Fix Me
by NobleAndAncientLineBlack
Summary: Ever since her best friend started dating Embry Call, Erin always seems to find herself in awkward situations with Jacob Black. He keeps staring at her as if she's the most amazing girl around. That should creep her out, right? So why does she like it? OC/JACOB
1. For the love of La Push

_So it's pretty much a typical imprint story but I think the characters are so funny and I really enjoyed writing it. Hope you like it. Reviews are always welcome... :D_

**Chapter 1**

No matter how hard I yelled or how hard I looked, I just couldn't find the stupid mutt! That stupid dog just never listens. When I came home after school I didn't see Ash anywhere. Ash is my brother's dog. Well, actually he was my mother's but I'm sure she doesn't want him anymore. She left him a few years ago. Oh, and when she left the dog, she also left the rest of our family. It's okay, I never really got along with her anyway but I can tell my dad still misses her.

I love my dad. He is the most important person in my life. He is and my best friend Jackie. Me and Jackie have known each other since the day we went to kindergarten. We have both lived in La Push our entire lives and our houses are close to one another. I don't have that many friends so I tend to hold on to the ones I have.

My other best friend is Andy and I never met a funnier guy. For somebody who hangs out with two of the weirdest girls in La Push, he's actually quite liked by the female population. Me and Jackie aren't that happy about it. Me, because he normally dates the biggest bitches of our school and Jackie, because those bitches like to ditch on the ex-girlfriend aka Jackie Condura. Yep, those two used to date. Luckily for me they weren't all lovey-dovey so I wouldn't feel like the third wheel. I was actually sadder about their break-up than them. But I guess it's for the better. If they were still together Jackie never would have met Embry.

Embry Call. He is one of the buff boys on steroids in La Push. Are there that many? Why, yes there are. There's Sam Uley, he's like the leader of their little group but he isn't in High school anymore. I think he's a little bit too old to hang out with people like Embry. Then there is Paul Hanson and that boy has quite the temper. I thought Jackie was bad but she is no match for his mood swings. He's also mean. I remember him being one of the biggest bullies in La Push but that al changed when he woke up one morning all ripped. I mean it, those boys just changed from regular guys to bodybuilders overnight! Yep, weird things happen in La Push. The third guy is Jared Thail. He's dating Kim Conweller and the minute I heard about them dating I thought they'd make an awful couple. But then I saw them together and they're the cutest thing ever! She's really lucky. Not only is he hot, smart and funny, he's also the sweetest guy of the whole bunch. I'm not crushing on him or anything. It's just a fact. Really, it is because it's written in the girls bathroom and those walls don't lie. Embry Call is also all of those things except for the smart part. I mean it, that boy can say the dumbest things but I never met a guy who's more worthy of dating my best friend. But more about him later. There's Jacob Black. I'll admit to you that he's just as good looking as the rest of them but I have no idea what he's like. Ever since he changed like the others he's been looking really sad. And a few months ago he just stopped coming to school. Apparently he ran away from home and Chief Swan is doing anything he can to find him. The strange part is that his own father doesn't seem to be worried at all about his son. But I noticed it's put a dumper on the other guys. I'm very observant when it comes to hot but strange guys. They're my thing. Then there is Quil Areata. I think he looks like a little dumb baby brother. I've notices that the others usually make fun of him but he fits in just as much as the others. I used to talk to Quil before he changed. Now, I don't think he recognises me anymore. It's not like we were friend but I liked my lab partner. Leah Clearwater apparently hangs out with them to but she graduated 2 years ago so I have no idea what she's like. I've heard rumours about her but I'm not one to judge. And last but not least Seth Clearwater. He looks like the nicest and the most innocent of them all. I don't really know what to think of him. He's a year younger then I am so I never really talked to him.

And that's the whole bunch. There are a lot of stories going around about them. Some say they're in some sort of cult and worship the devil. Others say they are in a gang and go around town stealing and beating people up. I don't believe any of those stories but nobody can deny that there's something really strange about those guys. But I don't think about it a lot, I don't really like butting in on other people's business.

Did I forget to mention someone? Oh, right! I have a brother. His name is Bryan. He's 3 years younger than me. That means he was 6 when our mother walked out on us. I practically raised him. You would think that means we're really close or something. But we're not and I don't know why. Somewhere along the way we grew apart and became strangers to each other. I never met a person who I'm that awkward around. And I never met another person who I wanted to be that close to.

Well, that's my life I guess. I know, not very impressive. I like it this way. I have 2 great friends, a dad who really cares about me, a brother to yell at when I need an outlet for my frustrations, good grades, I look okay and I have a dog who can certainly fill my days with him running away. There is nothing missing in my life. I had no idea how wrong I was about that.


	2. Staring contest

_Thanks for the reviews :D I'll try to update as much as possible. Hope you like it!_

**Chapter 2**

I had been walking around in La Push for 2 whole hours, looking for Ash. Two freaking hours! I had homework to do. I didn't need to spend my time looking for that damn mutt!

Yeah, I'm not really into animals. Weird, right? Most girls coo when they see Ash. I guess in some way he's cute but only because Jackie keeps saying that. She never gets it when I rant about it.

I pass Old Sal's shop when I see a familiar figure: Embry Call. He knows what Ash looks like. Maybe I could ask him if he's seen him. It wouldn't hurt. I see he's talking to this other guy who looks really buff. Must be someone else from the infamous 'La Push gang'. The guy has his back turned towards me so I don't recognise him. By the look of it, I would guess it's Jared Steer. He's a little shorter then Embry but he's tall like a tree. The other guy is more muscular though.

It looks like they are in a pretty heated discussion so I'm hesitating now to ask him. I think I would be disturbing on something important. The second guy is yelling but I can't understand what he's saying. They are too far away. Maybe I should just leave now and continue looking for Ash further down the beach. When I'm about to turn around, Embry looks up. I can see in his eyes that he's wondering how long I've been standing here and how much of their conversation I've heard. I guess it was very personal. Maybe they were talking about Jackie. That seems to be the only thing he talks about these days. It nice to know there's a guy out there who loves my best friend but it's hard to keep up a conversation with him. I don't understand how she can stand the fact the he always puts her on a pedestal. But then again, Jackie and I don't really have the same ideas about relationships.

Besides looking surprised, he also seems relieved to see me. He looks as though I might save him from the apparently horrible rant his ears are suffering from. I guess I could just quickly ask him if he's seen Ash and leave again. I didn't want to aggravate the other guy any more.

When I step forward Embry smiles at me. That's the horrible part about Embry Call. I've never seen him without that smile. It pisses me of most of the time when I'm ranting about an awful day and he just sits there with that smile. And it pisses me off even more when both he and Jackie aren't listening to it but just making gooey eyes at each other.

The other guy seems to have noticed that Embry isn't paying attention to him anymore. I go and stand with the two of them but the other doesn't even acknowledge my presence. That is so rude! But I don't care, I don't even know the guy anyway.

"Hey, Erin. What are you doing here?"

He doesn't seem to mind that I've interrupted their conversation. I can't say the same for the other guy though.

"Hi, Embry. Ash ran off again. I was wondering if maybe you've seen him around."

"No, I haven't. You should really buy a bigger chain for him. The one you have right know can't even hold a Chihuahua."

"I guess but Bryan thinks he will be unhappy when we put him on a real chain." I laugh.

The other boy huffs. I guess he didn't like it that Embry and I were talking. Or maybe he just didn't like it that I was still standing next to them. I guess he wants to continue his rant. I glance a look in his direction but he still pretends I'm not standing right next to him. The guy really is rude. He also look familiar but I can't place him. All those buff guys look the same to me anyway with the exception of Embry and Quil, the only ones I actually talk to.

Embry seems the notice my discomfort with the guy standing next to him.

"Don't mind Jacob. He's been in a lousy mood for the past…. months."

Embry's words seem to only anger him more. He balls up his fists and starts to shake slightly. It's kind of frightening me. Embry pretends like nothing is happening and looks back in my direction.

But I stare at the guy. Embry called him Jacob and that rang a bell. The other guy who's been in a lousy mood for apparently the past months is Jacob Black. Strange, I think. I remember Jacob Black as a funny, care free guy. What happened to him? Then again, I never really spoke to the guy before just like I never spoke to Embry until his sudden infatuation with my best friend. I thought Jacob Black ran away from home? Well, I guess he's back now.

"I could help you look for Ash if you want to. La Push isn't that big. We'll find him in no time."

He seemed eager to help or maybe just eager to get away from Jacob Black. But I didn't want to interrupt them any longer. One of them clearly didn't appreciate my company.

"That's okay. I'll find him. I don't want to bother you guys any more. I'll see you in school, Embry."

I give him a smile and turn around. But not before I look at Jacob. He may be rude but I'm not.

"You too, Jacob."

He seemed surprised that I addressed him and looks down at me. Literally, because he's enormous and I'm just a little girl with an average size. I look him straight in the eyes and something strange happens. At first he's still glaring but than his whole expression softens. And he looks at me like the way a man in the dessert would look at an oases. The normal thing for me to do would be telling him that staring is rude but for some inexplicable reason I can't make a coherent sentence in my head, let alone say it. I don't even seem the mind the staring which is probably even stranger.

But out of the blue his expression changes and he starts shaking even more than before. Embry no longer pretends that nothing is happening but grabs him by his shoulders and drags him into the woods. Jacob keeps staring at me the whole time as if I'm the blame for every bad thing in the world. This look I don't like, yet I can't look away any more than before. It is only when they are both completely out of sight that I seem to come to my senses again. What the hell just happened?

As if on cue Ash runs out of the woods where Jacob and Embry just disappeared. He's also shaking from head to toe like he's seen the scariest thing on the planet.


	3. My own universe

_This is just a chapter about Erin's everyday life, don't worry cause there will be more of Jacob in the next chapter. And remember that I ADORE revieuws! ;) _

**Chapter 3**

My brother had once again gotten mad at me because Ash had run away again. He always thinks it's my fault the dog runs off when he feels like it. One time it's because I can't tie knots, the other time it's because I forgot to feed him so Ash had to go look for something to eat somewhere else and that way Bryan always finds a way to blame me and I always end up being the one to look through whole of La Push for him.

A car honks outside on our drive way. That's my cue to leave. I quickly force the last of my pancakes down my throat and get up. With a full mouth and hopping on one leg to get my shoelaces tied I make my way to the front door. I'm glad that my father and Bryan aren't home anymore because Bryan would have rolled his eyes at me and mumble an insult under his breath while my dad would have flat out laughed at me. I compose myself and throw on my jacket before I open the front door. There is no need to hurry, Jackie is used to me being late. I think it's something you become accustomed to after being friends for so long. Just like I got used to her inexplicable need to get everyone to like her. So far she's actually quite successful.

"You're late." She comments while I sit down next to her in the front seat. She has a comet. It's a great car. I'm stuck with the world oldest truck and I have to share it with my father and 14-year old brother. I know, legally he's not allowed to drive it but deputy Regan Polard doesn't mind. So why should I?

"Yeah, well there's a first for everything, right?"

She snickers.

"I wish it was a first."

When she pulls out of our drive way, I turn on the radio and because the car has no roof the sound goes pretty far.

"Erin," she sighs "Some people are staring"

I smile at her while turning the volume up.

"And now they are all staring."

She sighs again but doesn't turn the volume down. She likes to please people and hates it when people are mad at her. I on the other hand really don't give a damn about what people think of me. At least, that's my official statement.

When we turn into the parking lot, I see Embry's waiting for Jackie. A big smile appears on her face. He always gets that reaction out of her. As soon as she turns in a parking space, she turns towards me while grabbing her bag.

"Lock my car for me, would you?"

She doesn't wait for my answer but runs out of the car, into Embry's open arms. They're so cute together but I would never let them know. From my seat I make gag noises loud enough for them to hear but they just ignore me and start making out. The usual. Once they are together nothing else matters. It used to annoy me to death but she deserves it.

"There goes my appetite."

I turn around to see Andy leaning against the car. He doesn't like Embry. Actually he does but tries his best to not show it. He's failing miserably. I smile up at him and walk to the school building with him after locking up Jackie's car.

"So, how was the date?"

Andy had a date last night with a girl named Dana. She's awful but he seems to really like her. It took a lot of time for him to pick up the courage to ask her out.

"Great, did you know 40% of girls don't like to make out on the first date?"

"Fascinating"

Why was he telling me this?

"Well, Dana is so not a part of that 40%."

And then he stares off in space with a goofy smile on his face. Oh God, I did not want to know that. Behind his shoulder I see Dana approaching in what I'm sure she thinks is a sexy outfit but it just screams 'slut' to me.

"Wipe that ridiculous expression of your face and at least try to act cool if you ever want a second date. See you later."

I didn't want to witness that conversation. Besides, every time I talk to her it's all fake. She says something along the lines of _'Hey, Erin. I love the shirt.'_ And then I say something like _'Thanks Dana, how sweet of you to say that' _while we both know she hates my shirt and no one would describe her as sweet.

I make my way towards my locker to get my math book. The worst class to start the day with although Chemistry makes a worthy opponent. I was so busy trying to fit the thick book in my bag that I didn't see him coming.

"Boo!"

I shrieked, loud enough for people to turn around but soft enough for people to not stare at me longer than a second.

"Adam!"

I slapped him and he was nice enough to pretend I could hurt a big guy like him. Adam was pretty big and muscular. Of course he looked just as small as everyone else compared to the La Push gang but they are unnaturally buff. Most girls don't complain though.

He just stands there with a big grin as I scowl at him. Adam's cool. He's Jackie's younger brother with an age gap of 10 months, so he's in the same grade as us. She doesn't like that and bickers with him a lot. You know, the sibling kind where they tease each other all the time but in the end they really love each other? I'm not sure Bryan and I are like that.

"What's your first class?"

"Math."

I don't even try to hide the disappointment.

"Boy, are you excited! Have fun anyway. I have to run. My first class is Gym and the bell is about to ring."

As if on cue the bell rings and we quickly say goodbye. I walk to the math class and sit next to Amilia. She's okay. I wouldn't call her my friend but at least she has a brain up there. That's something you can't say about a lot of girls in La Push. The reservation isn't what it used to be. At least that's what Jackie's dad keeps saying. I wouldn't know. My family moved to La Push before I was born. My dad moved to the area for his job but fell in love with the woods and decided to buy a house in La Push.

Like you can already guess I'm not Quileute. I'm not the only one on the reservation but it isn't very common. I'm okay with it . People usually don't mock me for it with the exception of Tara Greenwell. I don't understand why though. She's only half Quileute so she's not really the person to comment on my lineage.

The bell pulls me out of my thoughts. I get up and make my way to History. God, I hate school.


	4. Hot?

_In this chapter there is more Jacob and the beginning of Erin's confusing feelings. Revieuws?_

**Chapter 4**

The morning classes had passed at a pace slower than a snails. But I eventually made it to lunch. I was one of the first people in the cafeteria so I just sat at an empty table waiting for my friends. The first one to arrive was Andy put unfortunately Dana was attached to his hip and it looked like she had every intention to join at our table. It looks like I'll have to talk to her after all.

"Hey, Erin. I love what you've done with your hair today."

And there we go.

"Thanks, Dana. How have you been?"

And then she goes off on the biggest rant about her day. We've only been in school for over four hours yet it sounds like she's taking a lifetime to tell me about it. I nod at the right moments but almost jump up in my seat when I notice Jackie coming through the cafeteria doors.

"Hey guys."

From the minute she sits down, Dana is glaring daggers at her. Jealous much? When Jackie turned to Andy to ask him something, Dana attacked his mouth before I could even blink. Andy didn't seem to mind though I was glad Jackie had a similar look of disgust on her face as I.

"Embry not with you today?"

"No, he's sitting with his friends."

I didn't have to turn around to know what she was looking at. The whole group always sat at the same table. The only other people to sit with them, were Jackie for dating Embry and Kim Conweller for dating Jared Thail.

Suddenly her attention turned back to me.

"Have you hear yet?"

I had no idea what she was talking about so I just shook my head.

"Jacob is back."

"Huh?"

"Jacob Black? You know, Embry's friend who went missing for several months? They were all really down when he left. Embry's been ecstatic since he came back. I haven't really talked to him yet. What if he doesn't like me? He's one of Embry's best friends, what if Embry breaks up with me because Jacob doesn't like me? What if-"

"Jackie! Calm down. Even if he doesn't like you, I'm sure Embry wouldn't break up with you. He wouldn't even break up with you if you ran over his grandmother."

"Erin!"

"What? I'm sure it's true. Just don't take it to the test, okay?"

"That's strange."

Jackie and I both turned toward Andy. I couldn't see Dana anywhere. Good, now we can at least have a conversation with our friend. He had apparently been following ours because he too was staring at Embry's table.

"What is?"

"Why is Jacob Black glaring at us?"

I couldn't help but turn around and the minute I looked at the table I regretted it. The entire table was looking in our direction. Usually it was just Embry. But I hardly even noticed all the stares. I was looking right into the eyes of one Jacob Black. He had been glaring at Andy but now he looked so tenderly in my eyes. I don't even know the guy so why is he staring at me like I'm the only person in the room? I suppress the urge to touch my face to see if something is out of the ordinary. His staring is making me feel very uncomfortable but I just can't look away.

Then I feel a hand on my shoulder and I can turn around again. Jackie is sitting in front of me with a sly smile on her face like she knows something I don't. Andy who had brought me out of the strange trance asks me if I'm alright. Apparently I look a bit pale. I assure him that I'm fine but don't say anything for the rest of the lunch period.

For some reason unknown to me Jacob Black occupies my thoughts for the rest of the day. That was so strange. Even when I actually liked a guy, he was never on my mind all the time. But I didn't even know Jacob Black and I definitely didn't like him. Especially after he acted like a total jerk yesterday. He was in no way allowed to run around in my head so why was he?

When I walked to the parking lot I was very much aware that the 'La Push Gang' was standing by Jackie's car. Unfortunately she was also there and it didn't look like she was going to tell them to leave. I walked up to her trying my very best to not show them I was slightly intimidated by them and specifically by the tall boy on the motorcycle. He was such a cliché. Does that make me the stupid teen girl pining for the macho? God, I hope not. And I wasn't pining. Just so you know.

"Jackie?"

I tried my hardest to sound annoyed. I figured that way no one would hear the shaking of my voice. Shaky voice? What the hell? I'm Erin Thompson, a very composed person whose voice never shakes. Thank God nobody noticed but Jackie looked at me with that ridiculous smile on her face.

"Hey Erin."

And then she just stood there. She was supposed to get in her car and drive us away but no, she just stands there like this is normal.

"Euhm… Do you mind getting in the car and going home?"

A bit too forward? Apparently because Embry interfered and he only does that when he thinks I'm being unreasonable. He thinks that a lot by the way.

"Why the hurry? It's Friday, nobody rushes home on a Friday."

Damn he was right. That usually included me too but today I couldn't stand to be around school any longer than necessary. The reason? The hot boy on the motorcycle staring at me. Wow, did I just call him hot? Well, he kind of is but that's so not the point right now. What was the point again? My brain was starting to shut down. I would be okay as long as I didn't look into his eyes. Sounds like a mission bound to fail.

"I do. I hate Fridays and I want to go home."

God, I sounded like the world's biggest brat.

"Wow, what has gotten your knickers in a twist?"

Most of the guys were laughing after that but he just gave me the perfect opportunity to embarrass him and Jackie.

"And here I was thinking you only had Jackie's knickers on your mind."

Immediately after I said that Jackie's face got scarlet and I think a saw a little blush on Embry's cheeks as well. I heard some chuckling behind me but I didn't turn around. I was sure that rough voice belonged to the guy I'm not allowed to look in the eyes.

Jackie finally made her way out of Embry's arms and opened the car for me to hop in. I almost skipped to the door. I couldn't help but notice the disappointed look on Embry's face. He's acting like a moment apart would kill him. That's so sweet, so sweet even, I just have to disturb their cute little moment.

"Yeah, yeah, you'll miss each other, boohoo! Can we just go now?"

I think Jackie picked up on my awful mood because she quickly said goodbye and pulled out of the parking lot.


	5. Of special bonfires and third nipples

_Thank you, to everyone who reviewed! It really made my day! Kikikiki, you asked me to turn off something so you can review more than once. I would if I knew how to do that. But I did listen to you other request to update soon…And here it is! I've had bit of a writer's block lately but luckily for you all, I already have 13 chapters for this story. The reason I don't update that often is because I still have to translate the story._

_Hope you like this chapter too :D_

**Chapter 5**

As soon as we were on the main road of La Push, I turned towards Jackie and apologised for my strange behaviour.

"Am I allowed to know the reason for it?"

I just shrugged. I didn't feel like telling her about the strange attraction I had to Jacob if you could even call it that. And even if I wanted to tell her, I'm not sure how I would.

"That's okay."

That's why I love my best friend so much. When I don't want to tell her something she won't push it unlike Andy who just won't shut up about things sometimes.

"You wanna hang out this weekend? We could go to the movies or to the beach. It's not really the right weather for it yet but-"

"I can't, Erin. I'm sorry. Embry asked if we could spend the entire weekend together."

"The entire weekend? What the hell are you guys doing then?"

"I don't know. He won't tell me, says it's a surprise or something. But tonight he's taking me to a bonfire at the beach."

"Wow, a bonfire. How special."

She didn't miss my sarcastic tone. But come on, we've been going to bonfires on the beach since we were old enough to walk to it.

"Shut up! It was clearly really important to him and he said he had something really important to tell me. I wonder what it is."

"Maybe he wants to tell you he secretly has a third nipple."

That possibility brought a big smile on my face but she didn't join in my enthusiasm.

"Stop it, Erin. Why can't you ever be serious?"

I can! Well, not often but that doesn't mean I'm incapable of it. I glanced at my friend. She was serious. Maybe this was really important to her or maybe she was just insecure about what he wanted to tell her. He wouldn't break up with her because I told him I'd break his arm if he did. I don't think I would be capable of doing that to someone as huge as Embry but his reaction to my words had really shocked me. _"I'd even do it for you."_

"I'm sure it will be fun and I want to hear all about it on Monday."

Jackie turned in her seat when she pulled in my drive way and smiled at me.

The weekend was very uneventful except for the most awful phone call in my life. Well, actually in my week since she calls every freaking week.

I had heard the phone ring but was too slow to pick up. Bryan beat me to it and greeted the person on the other side of the line.

"Aunt Karen! How nice of you to call."

The minute I heard him say her name I raced towards the living room to get my shoes. I would leave the house as soon as possible. That way Bryan could tell her I wasn't home and I didn't have to talk to her. Of course the world hates me and I couldn't find my shoes anywhere. I was just about to go out bare foot when I spotted them… in Bryan's hands while he told her that of course, I could come to the phone. I gave him the best glare I could muster but took the phone anyway.

"Hello Aunt Karen."

"Erin? Darling? Is that you?"

Duh, who else would it be?

"Yes."

I love our conversations, they're always so filled with information.

"How have you been? You sound very tired. Are you getting enough sleep?"

"Yes, I am. I'm good too by the way and you?"

I always tried my best to make our calls as boring as possible in the hope that next time she calls, she won't ask for me. So far it hasn't really worked yet.

"Oh, you will never know what happened the other day. Miss Quinn came to our house. You remember Miss Quinn, don't you? Of course you do, who could ever forget about our sweet Miss Quinn? You've met her on several occasions like last summer when you were here. At the tennis match, she was the woman wearing the white flowing dress. I thought that was a wonderful dress and as a recall correctly so did you. She of course has the figure to pull it off…"

And then I spaced out. I think I still made quite an accomplishment to listen to her for such large amount of time. I did better than my dad. Don't get me wrong there's not really something wrong with my aunt but she talks all the time and always acts like she knows me so well when she's not even a part of my life.

You see, Aunt Karen is my mother's sister. She lives in Boston and each year we, me and Bryan, go on a vacation there to visit her. I hate it that she always tries to paint of my dad as the reason we don't talk to our mother anymore and what's even worse is that Bryan actually believes her stupid lies.

After a conversation of half an hour my dad comes home and gives me the perfect excuse to hand the phone to him. She will love to inform him of all the things Miss Quinn has been up to.

I didn't hear anything from Jackie all weekend but I guess I shouldn't have counted on it with her being on an Embry filled weekend. I won't admit it to her but she actually made me curious about what Embry wanted to tell her. I got a bit pissed off that she didn't tell me after she found out. Does that mean she doesn't need me anymore now that she has Embry? I hadn't really given much thought about the effect their relationship would have on our friendship but I suddenly felt a little abandoned.

What was up with me lately? I am feeling all these emotions that don't even make sense in my head.


	6. Cause of death: Jacob Black

_A new chapter! So soon! I'm pretty pleased with myself right now and I'm also pleased with the reviews I've gotten for the story. Thank you!_

_I like this chapter, it's the first actual conversation between Jacob and Erin :D_

_Enjoy (and review)!_

**Chapter 6**

It was Monday again and I was actually excited about going to school. I wanted to hear all about Jackie's weekend. I had a feeling something big happened. Unfortunately I couldn't ask her in the car since I would be riding to school myself today. Going by her house to pick her up would be a huge detour and she always says that I'm a horrible driver and she wouldn't ride with me even if it saved her life. She has so much faith in me, it's heart warming.

When I have the car, I unfortunately have to use it to drive my brother to school. The drive to school isn't particularly a nice one but I'm also relieved he isn't giving me remarks on my driving this time. He always goes on and on about how he should drive instead of me because he's so much better at it than me. Bullshit!

Thanks to the fact Bryan still had to make his bag this morning I was a little late in class. I tried to sneak into the class room without getting the teacher's attention on me. I failed. Luckily Mrs. Benton is a nice teacher and didn't even make a remark. I stayed quiet for the rest of class because of it but also because I don't really have a lot of things in common with Keith Hakley who I unfortunately had to sit next to.

My next class was with Jackie and I practically ran to the class room in hope to find a seat next to her. She was already sitting there in the back of the room. Perfect. I quickly sat next to her when I noticed Keith Hakley trying to take the seat. God, what was wrong with that guy?

"So?"

I had expected her to throw herself on me to tell me every detail of the weekend but she didn't. She just calmly sat in her seat and only slightly turned in my direction.

"So what?"

Is she kidding me? All acting like she has no idea what I'm talking about. Maybe what happened wasn't a good thing

"What happened this weekend? What did Embry have to tell you?"

She suddenly looked really uncomfortable. She started shifting in her seat and stared at the table. She was acting as if it was a crime to look me in the eye.

"Jackie?"

"I can't really tell you."

"What does that mean? We always tell each other everything."

"I know but… It's not really my secret to share."

I should respect that. Embry probably told her something personal and I shouldn't try to get her to tell me. The last thing I want is to boycott their relationship. But I couldn't help but feel disappointed that I wouldn't hear anything about it.

"So you're not going to tell me anything?"

"Well, let's just say he sort of told me he will love me… forever!"

She got this dreamy look in her eyes like she always has when she's thinking about Embry. It was just something more this time.

"That's not really new, is it? I'm sure you've told each other that before."

"No, it's different but I can't explain it. You'll find out too someday."

"What does that mean? And when is someday?"

"Well, that's completely up to you and…"

"And what? Or who?"

"I already said too much."

"What? But you didn't even say anything."

But Jackie wouldn't talk to me for the rest of the class. Our conversation had made absolutely no sense. I acted the next hour like she didn't confuse me and she was being normal again. I hoped the rest of the day would make more sense. Unfortunately it didn't.

I sat at the lunch table with Jackie. We have absolutely no idea where Andy is and I don't think we want to find out.

We had been talking about Jackie's father's midlife crisis (he bought leather pants) when Embry sits down next to us and takes up all of Jackie's attention. Don't mind me, we weren't having a conversation at all but indeed, they don't pay attention to me.

Strangely I feel someone sitting next to me and I'm pretty sure it's not Andy. This heat is radiating of the person's body and I feel myself getting a headache from just being near this person.

"Hey."

I don't have to turn to my left to see who's sitting next to me. I've never really heard him talk before, only grunt and chuckle yet I have no doubt that the voice belongs to Jacob Black.

"Hi."

I was raised to be polite so it would just be rude to not greet him back. That just doesn't mean I have to look him in the eye. Embry and Jackie are pretending to be in deep conversation but I can see them watching us from the corner of their eye.

"I'm Jacob."

Pfff, like I didn't know that.

"Erin."

And then he repeats my name. At first I think he wasn't sure he understood me but then he says it again. I look at him now. He's saying my name as if he's trying to see how it sounds coming from his lips. Unfortunately I like it but he's not supposed to know that. Plus it's considered creepy when someone repeats your name over and over again.

"I'm sorry."

For what? Saying my name? That's okay, I like it.

"For last week. I was in a terrible mood and I shouldn't have been so rude to you."

Well, that's not fair. How am I supposed to be mad at him when he apologises?

"That's okay."

Why was I whispering? Maybe he didn't hear me but I think he did. Suddenly this big smile appears on his face and he doesn't look like that grumpy guy at the beach anymore. I like him better this way.

After our little chat or whatever Embry talks to Jacob about cars. How interesting. Sometimes they ask me a question but that's about as much as I participate to the conversation. I can't help but notice Jacob's glancing looks at me during lunch. I don't like it when guys look like that then how come I don't mind with him?

This boy is going to be the dead of me.


	7. Saving Erin

_I love reviews, so thank you to the ones who reviewed and also to all the wonderful people who will do so after this chapter_

_xx_

**Chapter 7**

The rest of my week was quit uneventful… for everyone else that is. I on the other hand haven't had one moment of peace. I know the reason for it is stupid but it's pretty big to me. All week I have been trying to figure out the mystery that is Jacob Black. Besides our little 'whatever' on Monday we didn't speak again but I caught him staring at me way too often.

I got assigned to do a big project with Tara Greenwell: Gag! I really couldn't stand that girl but for the benefit of our grades I decided to no act like it. It was unfortunately a one-sided decision.

"Why did you pick that book? It's lame. Then again, that explains it."

We were sitting in the library working on our project because working on it out of the school hours with HER is no option. I was trying really hard to not hit her. I'm not aggressive or anything but she really gets on my nerves. All I do is sigh. There is no right reaction to her remarks. And to think I could spend this time in the cafeteria hanging out with my friends. This sucks.

"It has all the information we need, Tara!"

"That can't be right. I mean, just look at the cover. It looks like something you threw up!"

That's it. I was ready to give her a piece of my mind when I hear a voice behind me.

"That's not very nice, Tara."

I see her eyes go big and roam over the person behind me. This just aggravates me even more. She wasn't allowed to look at Jacob like that. I wasn't even allowed to do that. But she doesn't seem to notice my rigid attitude and just flirts with him. Right in front of me. That girl has no self-esteem or respect! Then again we are talking about Tara Greenwell.

"Oh hi, Jacob. Me and Erin were just joking. I would never say that to her."

Yeah right. Jacob didn't seem to believe her either. Instead he just sits down at the head of the table. Why is he joining us? This just became the worst hour ever!

"So what are you guys doing?"

I notice that he's directing his question towards me but it's Tara who grabs the opportunity to talk to him.

"We got this huge project assigned to us for History and I got stuck with her!"

Jacob decides to ignore her tone and turns his attention to me.

"Do you need some help?"

What? No. Did he think I wasn't capable of making this assignment or stand up to Tara? Oh no, he thinks I'm pathetic. Well, I'm not!

"No."

Please, make him go away. This was already bad enough without him sitting next to me.

"Oh, ok. I guess I'll just leave you guys to it then."

"Jacob, wait!"

What was she doing? He was just going to leave. And now he's sitting down again. Why did she ask for his help? Right, because she's lazy…and stupid.

For the rest of the hour I made the assignment while Tara was being Tara. Which means she was flirting with Jacob for a whole hour! And I had to sit there and watch her admire his biceps. They were pretty admirable but that's not really the point. When the bell rang to announce the end of lunch, I couldn't be out of that room fast enough.

I was in a terrible mood the afternoon. I told Jackie it was just because I had to work with Tara but she knew there was more to it. Why am I so easy for her to figure out?

I really hated the fact that Jacob had butted in today. It really wasn't any of his business. That's what I told myself but there was this nagging feeling in my gut telling me that I was just angry that he flirted with Tara.

On my way to the parking lot I noticed Embry standing by my locker… without Jackie or his 'gang'. Believe me when I tell you that's a rare sight.

"Hey, Embry? You lost?"

"Nope."

I decided that if there was something he wanted to tell me he should. I wasn't going to ask him. He better didn't do anything stupid but then again Jackie would have scolded him for it by now. Where was she anyway? Oh my god! I turn towards him with a glare that would make the devil proud.

"Did you and Jackie have a fight?"

"What? No…n-no. I would never… She's…"

Okay, so no fight.

"Good."

"I was just wondering…"

He looked nervous. Like he was going to ask me out. That was just a such ridiculous idea I started to laugh, really loud. There were some people actually glancing at me like I was crazy and I could tell I was making Embry very uncomfortable.

"Sorry, Embry. I just had such a funny idea in my head."

"Okay… Did anyone ever tell you you're crazy?"

"Yep, all the time. This one time Jackie actually dragged me to the mental institute but they said they couldn't do anything for me. I'm a lost cause."

"You're joking, right?"

"Of course I am, silly."

He looked kind of relieved it wasn't a true story. In the time I've known Embry I've realised he's actually scared of me. And I love it.

"What is it you wanted to say, Embry?"

We were slowly approaching my car and I needed to leave soon. Even if it's a Friday. My dad needs the car for work. He's a guard at the hospital of Forks. This week he's doing the night shifts. They start at 5:30.

"I'm having a movie night at my place tomorrow night and I was just wondering if you wanted to come?"

"Sure, but who else is coming because if it's just me and the lovely couple I think I'll pass."

"No, I mean Jackie will be there to but so will a lot of other friends from La Push."

I found it strange that he wasn't willing to mention any names. But I'm not a very suspicious person so I let it pass. I agreed to be at his house tomorrow at 7 o'clock pm. I didn't have any other plans so why not go?


	8. Horror movie night from hell

_Thanks Kiki for being my very loyal reviewer :D_

_I hope you all like this chapter, it's one of my favourites_

_Please Review!_

**Chapter 8**

Remember that I said why not go to Embry's place? Well, I've found a really good reason why not but of course it's too late now. I was already in a room surrounded by human walls. Indeed, when Embry said some friend of his were coming, he failed to mention that those friends were the entire La Push gang. On the other hand I should have realised, because Embry doesn't have any other friends. So I am willing to take the blame too. I shouldn't take it out on him. Well, not all of it.

Embry was trying his very best to avoid my glare and that only pisses me off more. Let's say by now on a scale of 1 to 10 my mood was a 5. Then the guys decided they wanted to see all the Saw movies. My mood turned to a 4. I found out that you should watch the chip bowls like a hawk if you want to eat something. If you don't, the garbage cans that call themselves boys will eat it all in a matter of seconds. Having nothing to eat defiantly dropped my mood to a 2.5. Then Embry made the seating arrangements in such a way that I was squished in between 2 hot bodies. In itself not really a problem unless one of those bodies belonged to a certain Jacob Black. Which of course it did and caused my mood to drop below the freezing point. I love movie night!

Has no one ever taught those boys to be quit while watching a movie? Apparently not because during the two first movies they kept on telling everything before it happened. This was defiantly not my idea of a great night. I think Jackie took pity on me because she swapped seats with the guy sitting at my left. Sadly Jacob didn't move as well.

At the beginning I had been way too aware of him being so close to me. He was hot and I mean that strictly temperature wise. I could feel how his chest would rise and fall due to his breathing.

In the middle of the third movie, the doorbell rang. They had all ordered pizza once all the food was gone. They ate like savages and I'm pretty sure Jackie also didn't get anything to eat. Now they had ordered 12 pizza's for 7 people. But at least now I might get something to fill my tummy with.

"Must be the pizza's."

However, nobody got up. Perfect. I took the opportunity to get myself a Jacob break. God knows I need it. I jumped up before anyone could intervene and said I would get it. When I opened the door and wanted to pay the poor dude with 12 pizza's, a hand came up from behind me to take them.

"I'll carry them. It's pretty heavy."

What? Now, he also thinks I can't carry pizza's? Jacob must think really low of me.

"How about this; I take 6 and you take the other 6? That way it's equal."

Yes, that way I didn't feel tiny and I wouldn't humiliate myself by falling down with 12 pizza's.

"How about I take all 12 and you cut them?"

I was about to complain about his stupid arrangement but he had already disappeared into the kitchen.

I entered the kitchen and guess what he was doing? He was cutting the pizza's! I felt myself getting really angry with him. I'm not a baby. I've always been capable of carrying and cutting pizza's before. Why wouldn't he let me do it myself? Probably has something to do with male pride. It always does.

Without saying a word I snatched the knife out of his hand. I know, not very responsible but I think I made my point. He didn't seem to like me cutting the pizza's. He made that pretty clear but I had hoped he would just give up by now.

"Don't be ridiculous, Erin. I can cut the pizza."

"So can I."

He reached over the table to grab the knife but I simply held it out of his reach. He didn't like that one bit.

"You might cut yourself. It's dangerous."

I huffed. I wasn't a 7-year old who needed to be taught not to play with knives. I ignored his further attempts to get the knife back and walked to the living room once I was done. There, everyone of course attacked the food like they hadn't eaten in days. At least this time I had my share.

I seated myself on Jackie's other side so I didn't have to sit next to Jacob anymore. That boy just pushes all the right buttons to piss me off. I notice Jackie staring at Jacob like he should have a certain reaction to the fact that I clearly don't want to sit next to him anymore.

The rest of the evening passes in a blur and by the end of the third movie I fall asleep. I wake up to chatting. I can hear someone yell something like 'Hate me' and 'dangerous pizza'. It really doesn't make any sense. Once people start realising that I'm awake it is deadly quiet in the room. Thank god Jackie is still there.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty. Did you enjoy the movies?" she snickers.

"You're one to talk. You fall asleep during every movie."

"Not true. I stayed awake all night."

She stands really proudly in front of me. I just have to mock her.

"You want a medal or something?"

"No! But a pat on the shoulder from time to time would be nice."

I roll my eyes but give her one anyway. After obliging to my friend's strange request I say it's time for me to go home.

"I'll walk you home."

Jacob answers so fast that I have to blink first. Twice.

"Well, have fun walking but I'm taking my car."

"Oh, well. I'll drive you then."

"You think I'm going to let a stranger drive my car?"

He looks slightly taken aback and hurt by my words and mumbles something under his breath. I think it was 'I wouldn't call us strangers' but I could be wrong. I realise that the guy might just be looking for a ride home. I could offer him that, right?

"But I could give you a ride home if you want to."

His mood turns around completely. Where there was a sulking pout before is now a huge smile while he agrees. I turn towards Jackie to ask if she needs a ride too. I didn't see her car in front of the house and it is getting late.

"No, I'm…euhm…going to stay here…with Embry."

I can see the guys behind Embry's back wiggling their eyebrows in a suggestive way. That is so immature but I was kind of thinking the same. I say goodbye to everyone even if I don't know their names. Well, I know Quil and Seth but I've never seen the other guys before. Looks like the gang is expanding.

I walk out of the house straight to my car and try to hide the fact that it really is just a piece of junk. Jacob gets in the car and I immediately regret offering him a ride. What was I thinking to voluntarily sit in the same car as Jacob Black? There is no way I would be able to stay focused on the road with him so close to me.

"It's a nice car."

Seriously that's what he wants to talk about? Maybe he's mocking it. Probably the latter.

"Yeah, so where do I drop you off."

"Oh, you don't have to take me home. I'll just walk from your place."

No way. Then he knows where I live and will come kill me in my sleep. I've seen it happen way too often. Not with this girl, cruel fate! Maybe watching the Saw movies wasn't good for my sense of reality. Never the less I didn't want to take him to my house.

"I'd rather drop you off at your house." I say quietly.

It couldn't be that far. I mean, he does live in La Push. I highly doubt the ride will take longer than 5 minutes. What if it does? Then I have to make conversation with him for that much longer and my mind is already blacking out, right when I need it the most.

He gives me the instructions to his place and soon enough we're there. It's a small red house but I like it. It just has a homey feeling to it and is 100% La Push. He had just finished the story from when he and Embry learned how to drive. I pulled up in front of his house but he doesn't get out of the car.

"Did I do something to you?"

I turn to him in surprise. It didn't sound mean or arrogant. It was a sincere question.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you don't seem to like me very much. I don't know why though. Is it because I was rude to you that day at the beach? Because I -"

"No. You already apologised for that and I said it was okay."

"Oh, so you just don't like me for no apparent reason?"

The idea seemed to horrify him and it honestly horrified me too. I didn't not like him. I did, that was the whole problem. I cared too much about what he thought of me and I hate feeling this way.

"I do like you. You know, as far as you can like a person you barely know."

"Really?"

He looked unsure like he didn't know if he should believe me or not.

"Yes."

Before I could say anything else he stepped out of the car and walked towards the house. It actually looked a bit like skipping which is really strange on a big guy like Jacob. He had seemed happy with my answer and it actually made me happy that I had brought a smile to his face. I felt pretty good about myself in that moment.


	9. Quileuteness

_Thank you so much for all the reviews! Really liked them. So another chapter. We'll be seeing a lot more of Jacob in the chapters to come. xxx_

**Chapter 9**

I hate Monday mornings! Really! Who invented them anyway? Whoever it was, we should grab our torches and put him or her on fire. That will teach them. God, I'm too violent so early in the morning.

I practically have to crawl out of my bed. I was so tired, like I didn't have any sleep last night which I did. It must be the dream I had last night. I never had strange dreams before but last night I did. It had something to do with a flesh eating pizza coming to eat me. But then Jacob, Embry and Jackie jumped in front of me to save me. Jacob got eaten by the pizza and the two others started to make out when they noticed each other. When I asked them to help me, they said I was old enough to take care of myself. If there is some kind of hidden meaning in it, I would love to hear about it.

I sat at the breakfast table like the zombie I felt like. My dad works the day shifts this week so he was also there. We chatted about going to the vet with Ash. He had been acting very strange ever since the last time he ran away. Of course, that gave Bryan another reason to blame it all on me. When the car honked outside to announce Jackie's arrival, I hurried out of the house.

On our way to school she asked me if I had liked movie night at Embry's. There was no need to lie to her so I told her I really didn't like it at all. I also told her about Jacob's strange question in the car but all she did was smile after that. She's so strange.

"What are you doing?"

Jackie had been staring at Andy's back all day. I was starting to get pissed at it. She suddenly turned towards me and asked me a strange question.

"If you had to sum up the people in La Push with the most… Quileuteness in their bloodline who would you say that is?"

"What kind of a question is that? And I'm pretty sure Quileuteness isn't a word."

"Will you just answer the question?"

"Fine! Well, that would be the Clearwaters, the Areata's, the -"

"Would you say Andy is one of them?"

"Where is this coming from?"

"Would you?"

"No? Can you tell me what this is all about, please?"

But she seemed to be too relieved with my answer to keep up the rest of the conversation. Jackie had been acting really strange lately. She had been asking questions like that a lot lately. Last week she asked me if I would want to know who my soul mate is. Something or someone had been messing with her head and I'm pretty sure it's Embry.

That was the reason why I didn't went to my PE class after lunch. I stayed at the table with Embry after Jackie and Andy had left.

"Okay, Embry. Something happened between you and Jackie and I want to know what it is."

He thought I didn't see it but he tensed up after my words. Soon enough he seemed to realise that I had no idea what I was talking about (which I really don't) and visibly relaxed.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Jackie asking me strange questions like who I think has the most Quileuteness in their bloodline (What? It's catchy!) or if I like wolves. What is that all about?"

He was getting nervous at the mention of these questions and so did the rest of the 'La Push Gang' who were standing behind Embry by now.

"Why do you think I know something about it?"

"Because she was fine until 2 weeks ago when there was something big you had to tell her. I don't know wha-"

"Why aren't you in class, Erin!"

Jacob had joined too and was staring at me in panic. Why did he care if I wasn't in class?

"Really not the point, Jacob!" I sighed.

"You could get into trouble. Go to class, now!"

Did he just give me an order? Okay, that was it!

"Why should I listen to you? Last time I checked you didn't get a say on what I can or can't do!"

"I'm just worried about you."

He looked so sad when he said that. I immediately felt bad for snapping at him. I really didn't want to deal with him now. I stood up and looked back at Embry.

"Look I really don't want to know why she's acting the way she is. Just fix it!"

And then I walked out of the cafeteria. I should have known that Jacob wouldn't leave it to that.

"Erin!"

"What?"

I turned around annoyed. I was starting to get really tired of this.

"Can I walk you to class? You are going to class, right?"

I might as well. It hadn't really been my intention but I couldn't bear to let Jacob down any more then I felt I already had.

"Yes, I guess you can."

We walked in silence for a moment but I could no longer stand it. There were silences way too often around him and there was something I had wanted to ask him for a while now.

"Can I ask you something?"

"You can ask me everything you want."

"These last few months when the town was filled with missing-person-photo's of you…"

He nodded as if encouraging me to continue.

"…Where were you?"

"It's kind of a long and complicated story."

"Oh, that's okay. You don't have to tell me."

"But I want to."

He had stopped and grabbed my upper arm when he said this. I suddenly felt very warm. I'm not sure if it was caused by his words and the fact that he wanted to share something personal with me or if it was the heat coming from his hand. He seemed to have a very high body temperature.

"But like I said it's a long story and it's not something I want to just tell you while walking to class."

I didn't understand what he wanted to say with that but I didn't have to break my head over it much longer.

"Wait for me in the parking lot?"

It didn't really sound like a question to me yet he seemed to be waiting for an answer so I nodded my consent. He immediately smiled his trademark smile and I could feel my knees go weak. He said goodbye and took off in the opposite direction. That's just great! How was I supposed to do PE with wobbly knees?


	10. Uncooperative lockers

**Chapter 10**

I was extremely nervous and I didn't even know why. No, that's a lie. I knew very well the reason for my clenching chest. At the end of this hour I was going to walk out of this classroom, head to the parking lot and spent a long amount of time with Jacob Black all alone. Only the idea of what was to come made my heart race in the bad way.

I had changed my mind over this a thousand times this afternoon. One moment I was certain that hearing the story wasn't worth this but two seconds later curiosity would get the better of me. It was bound to be an interesting afternoon.

I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest and dance through the corridor in a taunting way but strangely enough it stayed in its place. I really expected hearing the bell ring, would have a more dramatic effect on my body. I slowly got up from my seat, following the rest of the students to the parking lot. I wanted to make a quick stop at my locker but due to my nerves it was a stop that took over 20 minutes.

I was convinced most of the students would be gone by now. That was good, that way no one would see me and Jacob together. Wait, that came out all wrong. I'm not ashamed of being seen with him. I'd even proudly parade around La Push with him if I could keep my damn nerves under control… which I can't. It was already bad enough that I couldn't even look at him without my knees going weak, I didn't need the whole school witnessing my embarrassment on top of it.

After a while I just couldn't prolong it any longer, plus I didn't want Jacob thinking I stood him up. So I picked up the courage I didn't have and walked out of the school building. I couldn't help but feel extremely ridiculous for being nervous about him telling me some story. But it didn't feel like some story and it certainly wasn't some guy. Oh God, let's just get this over with.

When I went in to the parking lot I immediately saw that I had been right. There were only over 5 cars left and the bus had already past a long time ago. My eyes were pulled towards the person standing by the car furthest away from the building. When Jacob caught my eye that beautiful smile of his lit up that gorgeous face. God, Erin! Stop thinking stuff like that.

Knowing he was looking at me, I made my way over to the car. I knew I would blush the minute I looked back at him so I just stared at my feet. Unfortunately I couldn't keep doing that when I stood right in front of him so I looked up.

"Hey there." He smiled.

I couldn't help but smile back. His mood was always contagious. I greeted him and hoped that it wouldn't be followed by an awkward silence. It didn't but maybe I would have preferred Jacob to not open his mouth.

"I thought you had changed your mind."

Was I supposed to tell him that being alone with him frightened me so much that I had tried to hide in my locker? Better not.

"Sorry, my locker doesn't understand the meaning of teamwork."

He grinned and I decided that I liked it when he did that. Especially if it was because of me.

"So are you ready to go?"

I nodded. I had already presumed that if this was as big as I thought it was, he wouldn't want to tell me in the school parking lot. It seems I had been right. I made my way over to the passenger seat of the car Jacob had been leaning on when his hand stopped me.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting in your car?"

"Well, that would be strange since I didn't bring my car today." He smiled.

"What? Who's car had you been leaning on then?"

"I don't know."

I sighed. This boy is weird. Why couldn't he just stand by his car? Oh wait, didn't he just say he didn't have his car here?

"Are we walking?"

I hoped not. I didn't think my legs could walk for longer than 5 minutes without crumbling to the ground.

"No, I got something way better."

After he said that he walked towards a motorcycle next to the car that I hadn't even noticed before. Hell no!

"What is that!"

"A motorcycle. I thought it would be nice to take a ride on it."

"Is it yours?"

"Yep, I fixed it up all by myself."

He looked so proud about it and excited at the idea of going for a ride that I couldn't tell him I didn't even like motorcycles. So I just nodded and climbed on it. The minute I did, I realised I would actually like this. It gave me the perfect opportunity to hold him without looking like a total creep. He was surprisingly warm. I liked the feeling of him so close to me but it also made me sad. In just a few minutes we would arrive to wherever we were going and I would have to let him go with no prospect of ever doing that again.

I had started to dose of as far as you can when you're sitting on a motorcycle and the most gorgeous guy on the planet is right in front of you. I hadn't even noticed we had stopped when Jacob said I might want to take my hands of his waist. Total embarrassment!

"Sorry, I kind of dosed off."

"You must be the only girl in the world who doses of on a motorcycle going 60 miles an hour." _(I have no idea how fast that is)_

I didn't know if he was teasing me or just simply insulting me but his big grin soon took away any doubt. He wouldn't be mean to me. I don't know if he's capable of it. Except for the first time we met of course.

For the first time since I got of the motorcycle I looked up and found myself staring at First Beach. He must have guessed that like everyone else in La Push I loved the beach. It was a place where I could think and be alone if I wanted to. Being here made me realise I hadn't come to First Beach in a while now.

"Do you like First Beach?"

He was looking at me like my answer was off the utmost importance. I didn't really understand why he was looking at me like that but nodded anyway. He took my hand in his and took me towards the shore. I was too stunned to protest but even if I wasn't almost paralysed I don't think I would have. I liked having my hand in his. His big warm hand practically swallowed my pale one. I couldn't help but stare at the difference between our skin tones. I looked even paler compared to him.

Jacob must have noticed my mental absence because he asked me what I was thinking about. I bluntly spoke out my last thought to him without even thinking about it.

"I like it." He smiled and brought our clasped hands closer to his face to examine them.

And with those three little words I suddenly didn't mind anymore. We walked for a few more minutes before he sat down and tapped the spot next to him.

"Well, before I start I think you should know that whatever happened to me before, it's over. I have been over it ever since I came back to la Push."

He was looking at me like I should understand exactly what he was talking about.

"Okay?"

And then he told me the story. I had been right, it was big. At least to him it was and somehow that made it big to me too. He told me of this girl, Bella, who he had grown up with and loved very dearly. But then some other guy showed up, Edward and stole her heart. It had hurt Jacob. I could tell by just looking at him. He looked so sad when he was talking about her. Apparently that Edward left and she had been a wreck. I didn't understand how she could let a guy break her like that but I had never really been in love like that.

She was left all alone and in need of Jake. While looking at him I could understand why she needed him. How could you feel depressed when he was around, smiling at you like that? He fell even deeper in love and actually had a shot until that Edward came back. He was crushed and couldn't stand to be around the couple but didn't want to lose the girl so tried to win her back. By the sound of it, he didn't succeed and she is to get married in a few weeks.

He seemed less upset about her marrying someone else then when he talked about how much he had loved her. It was in the past, right?

"Do you love her?"

I was slightly afraid of what the answer would be.

"I do but more like a friend now." He quickly added the last part.

I wasn't really satisfied with the answer. I would have preferred him to tell me she wasn't in his life anymore. I don't know why it felt like that was any of my business.

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	11. My daddy told me so

_Thank you so much for all the reviews :D_

**Chapter 11 **

We stayed at the beach for another half hour, just sitting side by side. I didn't know what to say after he told me about her and he didn't look in great need of a conversation. I couldn't decide whether I was happy he had told me or not. I liked the fact that I knew something about him so personal, something that had made him into the person he is today. But I hadn't liked the feeling that had come over me when he had said that he loved her. I would almost describe the feeling as jealousy but why would I feel that way? There was nothing that gave me the right to feel that.

He had walked me home at the end because he somehow must have realised I was too tired to sit on the motorcycle again. I wouldn't have been able to hold on for the time needed to get from First Beach to my house. We didn't say a lot during the walk home, just some casual chat.

When we finally got to my house Jacob was taking it all in. He acted like a kid in a candy store. Wait, let me correct that. He was a kid in a candy store as soon as we entered the house. I thought the least I could do was offer him a drink. He immediately eyed the photos on the wall. His smile grew with every new picture he laid his eyes on. I could have stopped him because there were a lot of embarrassing pictures of me but I guess I should let him have something personal of me too after he just handed his story to me on a platter, sort of speak.

"Is that you?"

He had pointed to a picture of a little child playing in the rain. I could understand why he thought it was me. The brown hair and the pale skin are almost identical and you couldn't really see the eye colour.

"No, that's Bryan."

He looked at me questioningly. I hadn't really told him about Bryan I guess. I haven't really told him anything about my life.

"It's my brother."

"He looks a lot like you."

And then I said something that I would regret as soon as the words left my mouth.

"He looks more like our mother."

I don't know why I brought it up in the conversation. I could have said something along the lines of 'Not so much anymore' or 'I guess he does' or I could have just nodded and the topic would have been closed. But I just had to talk about something I wasn't willing to share anything about. But I couldn't take it back now, his eyes were already scanning the other pictures.

"Why aren't there any pictures of her?"

I shrugged and that indicated that the subject was closed. I felt bad that he had shared almost everything with me, practically a stranger and I couldn't even tell him something the entire population of La Push already knew. All he had to do was ask around and he'd know but I just couldn't tell him.

He surprised me by not asking again even though the curiousness was evident on his face. Note to self: Jacob Black can drop a subject when you ask him even if he doesn't wants to. I should remember that. It's a really good quality to have around me.

"I like fixing things."

His comment was completely out of the blue and I didn't understand where it had come from. I stared at him curiously. Was he insinuating that I needed fixing?

"Cars, I mean! Sometimes a motorcycle like the one I had with me today. But mostly cars."

I couldn't come up with the right response to that comment.

"I have a shed behind my house where I do that. You should see it sometime. It's really quiet and you don't get disturbed. It's well hidden by the trees. And my dad doesn't go there."

He seemed to be waiting for something. The reason why he was telling me this was still lost on me. Did he think I liked working on cars?

"You could come and hang out."

It sounded like a casual proposal but I could see the hope lingering in his eyes. I didn't like working on cars so why would I go? I knew the answer to that question. To spend time with Jacob. Time with him was precious, I knew that much. I wanted to get to know him and not just the things that he went through but also his interests, his fears if he even had them and his heart. I wanted to know his heart. He might not think and feel that way about me but why not try at least?

"Yeah, why not?"

His face instantly lit up and I couldn't help but laugh. We were interrupted by footsteps coming down the stairs. My dad was looking at me and at Jacob and then back at me.

"I didn't realise we had visit."

"Hi, dad. This is Jacob Black. Jacob, this is my dad."

"Hello sir, it is very nice to meet you."

"I'm afraid Erin hasn't mentioned you. Should I pretend to know who you are?"

"Dad!"

I can't believe he just said that. This is so embarrassing. Jacob didn't seem to mind though. Nothing on his face showed that he felt insulted. He just shook my father's hand and made some small talk to him.

"Well, Erin. I'll see you tomorrow at school I guess."

Before I could respond my father had already said goodbye to him and opened the door as a clear sign for Jacob to leave. And then he was gone.

"Dad, that was rude."

I wasn't used to him acting like that. He was known as a nice man in town. I had never heard him say anything bad to and about someone, not even my mother. For him to act so cold towards Jacob was very strange.

"I don't like that boy around you, Erin."

What!

"He hangs out with all those buff guys. They all look like they could kill you with a snap of their fingers. I don't like him around you."

"Dad, just because he's a big guy doesn't mean he'll crush my bones or something."

He looked at me as though he was examining me.

"Are you dating him?"

"What? No."

Though I couldn't help but blush at his blunt question. He didn't seem to believe me but let it go. When he walked towards the kitchen I assumed this conversation was over.

"Stay away from him, Erin. Please?"

"I can't do that. We go to school together. We have mutual friends."

With that he must have realised I meant Jackie and Embry. He had met Embry once or twice before at Jackie's house. He had indeed told me afterwards that he wouldn't like me dating someone as buff as Embry. I had laughed and told him not to worry because I would never do that. Now, I wasn't so sure anymore. 


	12. Friendship vs true love

**Chapter 12**

I was once again sitting in the library with Tara to work on our assignment for the last time. It was due the day after tomorrow. We had come to some sort of silent agreement to not talk to each other and just do our work. It worked just fine for me.

I didn't look up when the door opened and I heard footsteps. Tara however did and was immediately distracted from the task at hand. I could already see from the corner of my eye that she was putting on her flirting face. Yep, she has a face for that. She has one for every opportunity but most of the time it stays on her bitchy one.

"Hey, there Handsome."

Ugh! Would a guy actually fall for that? Sadly the answer is yes. There aren't a lot of guys in school who don't drool all over her. Don't ask me why.

"Hey."

The moment he spoke back, there was no doubt in my mind that it was Jacob's voice. The boy has a gift for showing up everywhere I am. Not that it's that difficult in La Push. Hearing his warm voice behind me, made my heart skip a beat. He chuckled as though he had heard it and took amusement is my silly crush for him. Yes, it's a crush. I could also call it plain attraction but even I couldn't deny that what I felt for him was something bigger than just physical.

Tara was making googly eyes at him and that made my heart sink a little bit. He came here for her as did the past 3 guys. She was kind of pretty apparently and she was at least half Quileute. Silly Erin, thinking she had a chance with a guy like him. When he sat down at the table I tried really hard to not look at him. After all this time I could already imagine him with my eyes closed. The way he smiled, the way he pulled off walked just in scrubs, the way he would stare at his hands when he was nervous, the way-

"You still working on that assignment?"

To my heart's happiness I saw him looking at me when he asked the question. I wanted to answer him but once again Tara was quicker.

"Unfortunately yes, but this will be the last time and we don't ever have to talk to her again."

Jacob suddenly started shaking and looked really angry at her. I kind of liked that he didn't want her to speak about me like that. That is what is was, right? He was taking deep breaths and when he was calm again he gave her a cold stare.

"Why would I still talk to you if you're not with Erin?"

Did he just say that or did my reality sense just completely vanish? My question was answered by the shocked expression on her face. She looked like she wanted to chop his head off when she stormed out of the room. I couldn't help but laugh loudly once she was gone. Jacob just looked at me like I was crazy.

"It's not funny! Why do you let her talk to you like that?"

"I don't, your reactions are just quicker than mine."

Even if I tried I couldn't wipe the smile that was on my face now. I gave him one of my best smiles, normally reserved for Jackie and Andy but it defiantly did its job. His face softened immediately and he looked at me adoringly. Or at least that's what I like to make of it.

I was sitting with Andy and Jackie at lunch. Lately it was rare to be sitting just with the three of us. Usually Embry or Dana joins us. Though Jacob had often been with Embry when that happened. Not that I mind, at all.

Andy was rambling on and on about how Dana was getting on his nerves because she always wanted him to spend all his time with her. Jackie was trying hard to cheer him up about it. I don't know why though. I would think she especially would encourage a potential break up between those two. I know I'm cheering for it.

"There is a simply way to take care of your problem."

"Really? What?"

He looked quiet hopeful at me as though I would save him somehow.

"Dump her! Then you don't have to deal with her whining anymore."

They both looked at me as if I had just said the dumbest thing possible.

"See, that exactly is why Jackie is the better friend."

"You wound me, Andy."

Though it was obvious I didn't care that much about his comment. He was sort of joking. Sort of, because when it comes to talking gently to people you'd rather ask advice from Jackie then me. But that doesn't mean I'm not a good friend.

"You guys want to go to the beach after class?"

I immediately nodded my consent to Andy's preposition. It was a Friday and today was a rare moment when I didn't have to hurry home for my dad. Jackie however wasn't that excited about spending her free time with us.

"Well, I don't think I can actually."

"What? Why not? It has been a long time ago that we spend any time with just the three of us."

Andy was right. It had been a while. For the rest of lunch we tried to convince her that it would be fun. We knew exactly the reason she was so reluctant to spend her time with us. During the entire conversation I saw her glancing in Embry's direction as if asking his permission. When he finally looked to be sighing she told us she would come.

We should have realised Embry wouldn't give up the time he could spend with his girlfriend that easily. We had only been sitting at the beach for ten minutes when we heard loud voices coming our way. I turned around and saw Embry approaching along with Jacob, Quil, Paul and Jared. I didn't have to hear Andy's angry sigh to know this pissed him off. He doesn't even like to share his friend with them at school, let alone when she was supposed to spend time with just us.

"Hey guys. What a coincidence." Quil smiled.

Coincidence my ass! I am absolutely convinced Embry didn't find Jackie here by pure chance. The guilty look on her face was proof of that. At least she still had the decency to feel bad about it. She had never been one of those girls to blow off her friends for a guy but with him everything had been different then her past relations.

They all sat down next to us without even asking. Jackie's attention was once again on Embry and Andy was angrily munching on the food we brought. That left me in charge to entertain four huge guys. What was I supposed to talk to them about? Jacob then came to my rescue, a role that seems to fit him quite well.

"How went the presentation with Tara today?"

"Pretty well although I think it was obvious it was more like two works smashed together than a team product."

"You talking about Tara Greenwell?" Paul asked me with a goofy grin. "That girl is fine! And she definitely knows how to give you a good time if you know what I mean…" He said while nudging me.

"Do I look like I want to hear about that?"

The other guys chuckled while Paul looked angry. I don't know why but then again Paul Hanson always looks angry.

"You want to go for a walk?"

Jacob's question came really unexpected to me. I couldn't make a decent sentence in my head and I certainly couldn't say it. Jackie decided to take part in the conversation again and said I would love to. Jacob also didn't like her answering for me.

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

"N-no, it's okay."

To make sure he couldn't say no anymore, I stood up and started walking away knowing he'd have no choice but to follow me.

We had been walking for a whole 5 minutes and none of us had said a word yet. I was looking in my brain for something we could talk about but came out with nothing. What was I supposed to say to him?

"Was your dad really angry?"

Huh? What? Oh, he's talking about last weekend when my dad had told me I should stay away from Jacob. That doesn't seem like something he needs to hear about.

"Not really. Just surprised I guess. The only guy that ever comes over to my house who isn't related to me is Andy."

"Why was Andy at your house?"

He said it in a very strict voice like I wasn't allowed to not tell him. Why was he acting like that? It made me feel like I did something wrong.

"Well, because he's my friend and sometimes he comes over, as does Jackie."

"Oh."

Weird! Before he could make me feel even more uncomfortable we heard shouting coming from the place we had just left. We turned around and saw Andy screaming at Jackie. Embry was in his turn screaming at Andy and shaking in a frightening way. Just like Jacob did the first time we met. Jacob ran as fast as he could, which was almost out of this world fast, to Embry and started dragging him away with help from the other guys. And then there was just me and my two angry best friends.

Before anything else was said Jackie walked in the direction the boys took off.

"Jackie!"

It had been Andy's voice that made her stop. He asked her where she was going. 'Embry' she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. It made Andy turn a vicious shade of red.

"Again with Embry! You know Jackie I'm glad you found someone, I really am but this shouldn't go at the expense of your friends. Me and Erin said nothing when out of the blue you decided you wanted to date one of the guys who are known as big trouble, we said nothing when the guy shows up everywhere we all go, we said nothing when you started spending more time with him and much less with us, we said nothing when he showed up here unasked and you started yet again ignoring us but I'm not keeping my mouth shut any longer. Are we supposed to just let him insult us like that? Are you really going to choose that idiot over us?"

Andy was on dangerous territory here but I couldn't help but side with him. There was truth in his words even though I never would have thrown them in her face like that. I was waiting on a response from her as was Andy. But she didn't even turn around. As soon as Andy stopped talking she just continued walking in Embry's direction.

I turned to look at Andy. The expression on his face was similar to mine. His mouth hung open like he couldn't quite believe that just happened. Did we really just lose our friend?

_Reviews would be nice_


	13. Hugs under pressure

_I was BLOWN AWAY by all the awesome reviews I got from you guys and it inspired me to update soon: So here it is! This chapter is a bit short but the next chapter is the best one I've written so far. _

**Chapter 13**

I thought she would come over the next day and apologise but she didn't. She didn't show up on Saturday, neither on Sunday and when I was expecting her blue comet on my drive way Monday morning, she didn't come. I had to walk all the way to school in the pouring rain. You won't be surprised to find out that I was in a grumpy mood when I finally arrived at La Push High an hour late. And then when I went to Math and wanted to take my usual seat next to Jackie I was surprised to see someone else sitting there. I wanted to shoot Jackie an asking look when I sat down somewhere else but for the rest of the hour she ignored me. When class was finally over I was going to corner her and demand to stop acting so stupid but I never got the chance. She was gone as soon as the bell rang.

I tried again for the rest of the day but she was clearly avoiding me. Lunch came all too soon and even I took pity on me and Andy. We seemed a bit lost without Jackie by our side. Andy was full out glaring at Embry's table where Jackie was sitting now. It was obvious to the rest of the cafeteria that something was off between the three of us. I kind of felt the need to do the same thing as him but I knew that once I turned around it would hurt to see her sitting perfectly content by Embry's side. So I just stared at my plate.

"Did you talk to her?"

"No. I tried but she has been avoiding me all day."

"Good. I'm still really pissed at her."

I felt a little angry when he said that but decided to keep my mouth shut. The last thing I needed right now was get into a fight with my other friend. On top of all that Dana came sitting on our table and demanded once again all of Andy's attention. I felt really uncomfortable sitting at the table with the couple making out in the most disgusting way. I mumbled something about going to the library before taking off but I'm pretty sure they didn't hear me.

I was so caught up in finding something to do for the rest of the lunch period (there is no way I'm going to the library) that I didn't hear someone following me out of the cafeteria. It was only when I was in the hallway that I turned around finding Embry walking behind me. I gave him the best glare I could muster.

"Hey Erin."

He looked hesitant about approaching me as he should be. I don't greet him back but just kept glaring at him.

"Jackie thinks you're mad at her."

"I am!"

"Why? Because she went after me last Friday? Or because she didn't make the choice you wanted when you forced her to choose between you and me?"

I could sense he was getting angry at me but it was nowhere near how angry I already was at him.

"No, because she has been avoiding me all day, because she made me walk all the way to school in the pouring rain without having the decency to call me beforehand. And because it is you talking to me and not her."

"Oh, so you weren't mad before today."

I nodded, clearly still pissed.

"But I'm still really not that angry with her. I'm especially mad at you."

"At me? What did I do?"

"Why the hell did you come to the beach Friday? Is it that terrible to leave Jackie's side for one hour? Just one hour? You're with her every moment of the day!"

"You don't know what it's like to be away from her. It's like my heart is being ripped out of my chest and it kills me when I don't know if she's safe."

Oooh, that is so sweet. No, I'm still mad at him. And all the mushy stuff is making me sick to my stomach. I sighed. Jackie was so lucky, I wouldn't want to spend time with me either if I had someone like that. But, it's just that-

"I miss my friend."

I had barely made a sound when I said it but he still heard it. God, why did I just say that? Now I just look like a sad lonely kid which I sort of am but still.

"I think you need a hug!"

"What?"

That wasn't really the reaction I'd expected from him. I was slowly backing away when he came at me with outstretched arms. I tried convincing him that I didn't need a hug but he seemed determined to give me one. I was going to warn him that I'd kick his ass if he did but I already felt two warm arms surround me. Huh, had Embry always been this warm? Then again, I don't think Embry ever hugged me before.

I started squirming in his hold. I didn't like having him so close. On top of it I saw Jackie and Jacob walking out the cafeteria. This is just great! I tried pushing him away but it was as if he didn't even notice it.

"Ooh, I'm so glad you guys get along so well."

I full out glared at Jackie. Wasn't it obvious that I was trying to get away? Thankfully Jacob did and he told Embry to let go of me. Once I regained my cool again, I threw them all a dirty look. Well, not Jacob of course. I could never be evil to him.

"Euhm…Erin?"

"Yes?"

Okay, so I was a bit rude to her but didn't I have every right to be? No?

"I'm really sorry."

I looked up at her and she just seemed so vulnerable to me. Why can't I stay mad at her? I sighed as a sign of my surrender and as soon as she saw that she came running to me to give me a hug. I quickly signalled her to not come any closer.

"I'm out of hugs today. Blame Embry."

And she did! After that we walked to class together. Who knew we made up so easily? Too bad I can't say the same thing for her and Andy.

_Please feel free to tell me what you thought of it_


	14. Smiles and pouts are irresistible

Whoohooo! So many reviews for the last chapter :D I'm sorry for the people who wanted to find out what happened between Andy and Embry because that's probably not going to happen. Sorry!

I really hope you like this chapter too. It's my favourite!

**Chapter 14**

A whole week had passed and Andy still hadn't forgiven Jackie. He was also angry at me for doing what he couldn't but that blew over after a day or two. I felt pretty torn between my two best friends. But I wasn't going to think about that anymore. Today was Saturday and somehow I ended up at Jacob's house. I had been hanging out with him at school a lot lately to avoid conflict with my friends but I found myself really enjoying his company.

Today was different though. Today was the first time I'd meet him out of school deliberately. I'm not counting the day he told me about Bella. I had agreed to come to his house and we would just hang out at his garage. When I say it like that, it seems stupid to be nervous.

I wanted to ring the doorbell when I heard him calling my name. His head was sticking out of a shed at the back of their property. He waved me over and immediately went back inside. Strange… I guess I'll just follow him in.

When I entered the shed I had expected a dirty looking one with spider webs and trash everywhere. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out it was quit clean and there only where car parts filling the space. Jacob was standing next to an old car with a proud smile on his face. I wanted to think that he looked so cute but I reminded myself of the fact that you're not supposed to think that about friends.

"So what do you think of it?"

"Euhm.. Of what?" I asked him confused.

"The car! It's yours."

"What?"

"Well, you told me that you had to share that dangerous old truck with your father and brother so I just thought you could use your own car." And then he went quiet.

He bought me a car? I almost never get anything, let alone a whole car. When I looked at the boy in front of me, my heart filled itself with adoration for him. Jacob Black certainly was something special. But I couldn't accept it and that's what I told him.

"Why not?"

He looked really disappointed but I am too proud to accept a car from him. My own father can't afford a second car and he bought one just like that? I don't think the Blacks have that much money.

"It's a car. It's expensive. And I didn't do anything do deserve a gift from you."

I hope he didn't notice the stress on 'from you' but it looks like he didn't.

"But I just wanted to give you something and you need this."

"You didn't have to get me anything. I'm sorry but I won't accept it. Thank you though. No one has ever done something like that for me."

I smiled at him when he looked like protesting again but he stopped all together. Memo to self: Jacob is a sucker for smiles.

"How about we make an agreement then?"

"Like what?"

"I fix up the car I bought, sell him and with the money I make, I can buy you a gift, anything I want and you have to accept it."

I thought about it for a while. I didn't really feel comfortable accepting gifts without any reason but he looked like he really wanted to give me something. Memo to self: I'm a sucker when Jacob pouts.

"Fine, but no car."

"Okay, no car. Promised."

I actually had a lot of fun this afternoon. We didn't really do anything special. We just spend some time in the shed, he tried to teach me some things about fixing cars but it all sounded way too complicated for me.

I was really dreading the moment in 5 minutes when I had to leave him. I hated being away from him. Oh, I sound like an obsessive girlfriend and Jacob doesn't even like me. A car honked outside and we both went outside to see who it was.

A cop car pulled in the drive way and the man behind the steering wheel waved at us, well at Jacob I guess since I didn't know the man. The police department in La Push was only made up by deputy Regan Polard and that was defiantly not him. Regan Polard was a young man for a deputy and lived in our neighbourhood. He's good friends with my dad.

The man walking towards us had a pale face, black hair and a big moustache. He didn't look familiar at all to me which is a good thing. That means I never get in contact with the police. He smiled at Jacob but seemed a bit suspicious about me. I could almost see him thinking: 'What is Jacob doing with HER?'. Yeah, that moment made me feel great about myself.

"Hey, Charlie. My dad isn't home right now. He went fishing with Old Quil."

"Oh, that's okay. I actually came to see you."

"Me? What about?"

"It's about the wedding."

And just like that the funny mood which we had been messing around with had moved to make room for an angry look on Jacob's face. It's moments like this that makes me wish he could just smile all the time.

The man who's name turned out to be Charlie looked at me to send a clear message for me to go away. I wanted Jacob to tell him he shouldn't look at me like that but he was putting all his energy in calming down. He was shaking like a leaf and the look in his eyes really scared me. I suggested to go get my stuff which would give them both the opportunity to talk about the subject that clearly wasn't any of my business. Jacob immediately turned towards me, pleading me with his eyes to stay. I reassured him that I wasn't leaving yet and he eventually nodded. When I walked back to the shed I could hear the angry tone in Jacob's voice.

I wonder what that man was talking about when he said 'wedding'. Who was getting married? I couldn't think of anyone but that doesn't mean anything. Besides Embry and Jackie we don't actually have friends in common. I waited a long time until I didn't hear any voices coming from outside and I heard a car pulling out of the drive way. For a while I thought that Jacob had just forgotten me and had accompanied Charlie. Eventually he walked in the shed. Somehow he was suddenly shirtless and he seemed a bit out of breath as though he had just ran a marathon. But even though he looked hot and angry at the same time, I couldn't shake this feeling I had that he was in pain.

"Are you okay?"

He looked at me for the first time since he had come back and…really looked at me. All of the sudden that scary mix of emotions was gone and there was just that look in his eyes. The same look he had given me when our eyes had crossed the first time in the cafeteria. As though I was something special. It made me very aware of how stupid I must look in his eyes but at the same time I've never felt more at ease.

"Jacob?"

"Huh? Did you say something?"

I still stung that he hadn't even taken the effort to listen to me but he was in no mood to pick a fight. Plus I don't really like to fight with him.

"I asked if you were okay, are you?"

"You're worried about me?"

The way he said that made my heart swell. As though he found it impossible for me to care about him. I decided to not take it as a personal offence but rather a compliment. I nodded slowly and that made the smile come back that I had missed for the past half hour. Half hour? Oh my god! I am so late and so screwed!

I jumped of the hood of the car I had been sitting on and grabbed my bag. I would have ran directly out of the door if it hadn't been for Jacob stopping me.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm really late, Jacob. I was supposed to leave half an hour ago."

I kept trying to let him loosen his grip on me but he wouldn't budge. Maybe I should try asking him nicely?

"Could you please let go? I have to get home."

He reluctantly let go of me but called me back when I was just about to step outside.

"I was just…. Would you...Maybe we could… was wondering…if…me and you…?"

"Sorry, what?"

"I just wanted to ask you if we could hang out again but differently."

"Differently how?"

"Like a date."

And then I couldn't move anymore. His words had me frozen on the spot. Did Jacob Black just ask me out? Me? Maybe I'm dreaming. I could try and pinch myself to check but if I was awake I'd look like a total freak to Jacob.

Maybe I had heard him wrong. Maybe he said he needed bait? Yeah, that's more likely. It does sound more realistic then Jacob Black asking me out on a date. I must have misunderstood him.

"Will you go out with me, Erin?"

Oh my god, Jacob Black defiantly asked me out!


	15. Rectifying a mistake

_Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the lovely reviews! It really inspired me to write some more Hope you like this chapter as well! _

**Chapter 15**

The weekend was over and I had spend it entirely in my room. I was afraid that if I left the house I would run into Jacob and it would be the most embarrassing thing since I had fell in the mud in front of my crush when I was 14. And that was beyond embarrassing!

After Jacob had asked me out and I had finally come to the conclusion it really happened, I had just mumbled some incoherent thoughts and ran for the hills. Looking back at it, that was probably not the smartest thing to do.

Now I was practically biting my nails off from the stress. Jacob would be at school and how was I going to avoid him? Jackie kept giving me weird glances but thought nothing more of it when she saw Embry pulling in the parking spot next to ours. I quickly said goodbye to Jackie and sprinted all the way to my class room. Only when I had made it to my seat, did I calm down.

Andy gave me a strange look when he walked in the room. I guess I looked a little flustered. I didn't even care what my hair looked like after my sprint. He sat next me but luckily didn't say anything about it. When Jackie walked in, he just pretended I had said something really funny. So juvenile!

"So what did you do this weekend?"

"What? Wh-why... would you ask me that?"

"Euhm, I was just making small talk. Why? Did something happen?"

"NO! I mean, no. Nothing special. Just a typical weekend. You know, like one at the end of every week. Really ordinary."

"What is up with you today?"

Luckily I didn't have to answer, not that I knew how I would have done that, because the teacher walked in. I had never been happier for class to start. And I dreaded the moment it would end. Maybe I could just hide during the free period. Oh, when had I become that girl who hides in the toilets to avoid a guy? And he hadn't even done anything bad to me, he just asked me out! Which was probably the worst thing he could have done. It's not like I have never been on dates before. I have, just not with a gorgeous russet man!

I hadn't run into Jacob once today. Even during lunch he was a no show, I didn't even have to hide in the toilets. Strangely now that I hadn't seen Jacob, I kind of wanted to see him. I guess my brain doesn't know that it has to save itself from humiliation.

I had almost forgotten about Jacob and just assumed he wasn't in today. He and his friends skip class, a lot. I was sitting in the parking lot chatting with Adam and some other people out of my class. Suddenly I felt someone looking at me and it made me feel very uneasy. That's how I knew it wasn't Jacob, his stare never made me feel this bad. I took a glance in the direction I could feel the stare from and saw the La Push Gang at the end of the parking lot. They were all glaring at me as though I had just slaughtered their families.

"Hey Erin."

I looked away from the creep club to look at Adams smiling face.

"Are you going to the beach on Wednesday? It's actually going to be sunny."

I didn't really feel like it but Adam said it would be the perfect moment to get Jackie and Andy to start talking again. He would invite Andy and I had to make sure Jackie would be there without her precious Embry. I could do that.

As it turns out, I can't do that. Jackie wouldn't come with us. She saw right through me. She said she appreciated the fact that we tried to mend things between her and Andy but she wouldn't come if Embry wasn't welcome. I said she was still welcome if she changed her mind.

The next few days passed in a blur. Jacob never came back to school. Maybe something had happened? Surely he wouldn't skip school for three days just because I didn't want to go on a date with him? He has almost all the girls throwing themselves at his feet, he could find someone else.

It was Wednesday and we were going to hang out at the beach. Just me, Andy, Adam, Dana and Adam's best friend Anton. I hadn't told Adam yet that Jackie wouldn't come so I just had to get it over with now.

"Hey, Adam"

He turned towards me. He had been looking at a few girls chatting a little bit further down the beach.

"Yeah?"

"I have some bad news. Jackie wouldn't come today. I'm sorry. I guess I'm not as good at persuading her as I thought I would be."

"What are you talking about, Erin? She's right there!"

And she was. Jackie made her way over to us. I was so happy that she had changed her mind that I didn't immediately notice that she hadn't. Right behind her was Embry and some of his friends and the worst part? Jacob was there too! And he was coming this way! Why does God hate me!

Jackie said some awkward hellos but I guess that was better than the guys behind her looking all intimidating at us. Andy and Dana were pretty much glaring at everyone, Anton fled saying he saw his girlfriend waving him over (he doesn't have a girlfriend) and I was staring at my feet, anything to not look at Jacob.

Only Adam was brave enough to say something of the lines that it was nice she had showed up anyway. To which Andy answered with an angry remark about her 'bodyguards'. I pretty much zoned out after that. I could feel Jacob looking at me and I needed all my concentration to not look up.

"Right Erin?"

Huh? I had absolutely no idea what Adam was referring to but if I asked him what he was talking about, Jacob would know I wasn't paying attention. Then that cocky grin would appear on his face and I would be even more humiliated. So I just agreed with god knows what.

Adam seemed to be happy with my reply and pulled me to my feet. When he started dragging me away I just had to ask what we were going to do. He seemed surprised by that because I had just agreed with it.

"We're going to swim."

"What? Are you insane! It's way too cold to go for a swim."

While saying that, I deliberately forgot that I had been the one to propose this an hour ago. But just the idea of being in a bikini in front of Jacob freaked me out to no end. I'm not that insecure of my body but the most gorgeous people in La Push were here and compared to them I'm kind of plain.

Adam gave me this very strange look but before he could ask me anything, I had already pulled free and told him I had to go home. I pretty much sprinted to my bag so I could quickly go to my car. Too bad my bag was right where the entire La Push gang stood and Jackie and Andy were still glaring at each other.

"Weren't you going for a swim, Erin?"

Stupid Dan! Couldn't just let me grab my bag, could you! I said I had to go home because dad wanted me at the house before he left for work. Lie nr.1

"I thought your dad never worked the late shift on Wednesday?"

Stupid Jackie! What did I ever do to get a best friend who actually remembers everything I tell her? I made up some story about him having to work because someone called in sick. Lie nr. 2

"Would you like me to drive you?"

Stupid Embry! Can't you tell I just want to get out of here as fast as I can? Jacob is staring at me! I just want to get away from here. I told him I was just going to walk because I wanted to enjoy the beautiful weather. Lie nr. 3

I was turning in to a big fat liar due to all this people asking me stupid questions all the time. Embry however didn't buy my story and insisted on driving me home. He knows where I live so he probably realised I didn't really wanted to walk that long road home. Plus I guess he wanted to give Jackie the chance to mend things with Andy.

So now I was sitting in the car with Embry on our way to my place. I didn't understand why but he seemed to be angry at me as well. Had I done something wrong? He didn't say a word to me until we turned into my street.

"Why did you turn Jacob down?"

I'm pretty sure my mouth opened in shock. How did he know that? Jacob hadn't been in school all week and I hadn't told Jackie what happened last Saturday. He looked at me to tell me he really wanted an answer from me. What was I supposed to tell him? I didn't even know why I turned Jacob down like that. Plus I didn't really tell him no, I just ran off.

"I...euhm... I don't really think that's any of your business, Embry."

Good answer, Erin! I accompanied it with a glare so he would just drop the subject but he didn't. I just seemed to make him angry instead of shivering in fear, not that that's what he usually does. He gripped his steering wheel as though he was going to break it. He looked really scary right now and that's not a word I would normally use to describe Embry with.

"I just wanted to hear your awesome reason for hurting Jacob like that."

Hurt Jacob? I couldn't hurt Jacob right? He wouldn't even be upset because I had turned him down. Maybe his ego had gotten a little dent because I don't think any girl in her right mind has ever turned him down before.

Let's think about it. Had he looked upset or hurt when I had seen him at the beach? I tried to recall what the expression on his face had looked like but I couldn't. I hadn't once looked him in the eye. Wait, all his friends had been glaring at me. Was that because I had actually hurt Jacob?

"So I turned him down, it's not like he can't find another girl? They practically all want to go out with him."

"That might be true, Erin but he doesn't want one of those girls. He only wants you."


	16. Can I have you forever?

**Chapter 16**

Embry's words kept ringing in my ear.

'_He only wants you'_

Could it be that it was the truth? Could Jacob Black really want me? The question in my head sounded ridiculous so it couldn't be true. I had spend the rest of the day keeping myself busy so I wouldn't have to think about it. But the day was over now and I was lying in my bed, wondering about that absurd possibility.

I just couldn't fall asleep despite all the tossing and turning. Those words Embry had spoken to me and the thought of Jacob being hurt haunted me. Maybe I should talk about it with Jackie but I already knew what she would say.

'_Oh my God Erin, why didn't you tell me? This is awesome! We can go on double dates now!'_

No, she wouldn't be a great help. I couldn't really ask Andy either. He hated the fact that Embry and Jackie were dating. He would hate the idea of me and Jacob as well. Maybe he'd even laugh about it.

'_What? You and Jacob Black? Where did you get that stupid idea? I bet it was Jackie. Just because she's dating a giant on steroids, doesn't mean you also have to. Can you imagine the two of you together?'_

He'd just make me feel worse. I couldn't exactly tell my father since he had been very clear on his opinion about Jacob.

'_He hangs out with all those buff guys. They all look like they could kill you with a snap of their fingers. I don't like him around you. Stay away from him, Erin. Please?'_

He would be so disappointed if he knew how I had ignored his request. But I'm staying away from him right now. I just didn't think I'd miss his company that much.

Thinking about all the people I could talk to, made me realise I don't really have that many friends. Just three, and that included my father. So sad. I guess I could count Adam as my friend too but I would never talk to him about boys. It was already awkward enough with Andy.

'_Euhm...boys? Wait, you're a girl?"_

Yeah, that conversation would do wonders for my ego. I really was screwed. I didn't have anyone to talk to about this. I didn't even want to, imagine it would turn into a rerun of my conversation with Embry. I had no idea what to do now.

After long deliberation with myself I decided that I would apologise to Jacob tomorrow for running of and ignoring him when he was at the beach. I just prayed to God he wouldn't ask me for an answer to his question.

So here I was at school again, fully intending to talk to Jacob today but my plan had one big flaw. He wasn't in school today. How was I supposed to talk to him if he wasn't even here? Well, I guess I've found a solution to my problem. Jacob won't come to school anymore so I could just avoid him forever. But the prospect of not seeing him again made my chest ache.

I was on my way home when my phone rang. It was Jackie. Huh? I had just seen her 10 minutes ago. Did she forget to tell me something?

"Hey Erin. I forgot to tell you but Andy and I made up. We're going to eat at Port Angeles tonight and I just wanted to see if you would like to join us."

Yes! Finally! I had thought they would just never talk to each other again. I quickly agreed to go with them. An opportunity to spend time with just the three of us doesn't come along that often.

I had gotten home, taken a shower and was ready to go to Port Angeles. I wasn't wearing anything fancy. I was just hanging out with Andy and Jackie so I had just pulled on a hoodie and jeans. The door bell rang and I went out to greet them. Boy was I disappointed when I realised Jackie came out of Embry's black truck.

Oh no! She did not just pull the same thing as at the beach. Andy would be furious when seeing her boyfriend tagging along. I can't believe she did it again. Andy was going to kill her and I'd gladly help him.

Upon seeing my evil glare she quickly told me that Andy couldn't come and so she had asked Embry to join us. Oh, great so now I was all alone, stuck with the happy couple. So much better.

"Don't worry, Erin. I thought you might not like being with just the two of us so we also invited Jacob."

Oh God, kill me now. How had I ended up in this situation? I know, it's all the fault of my best friend who is evil to the core. And she was just stupidly smiling at me as though she had done me a great favour. Well, in her defence I would have been grateful about this a few weeks ago. She practically skipped to the car which left me with no choice but to follow her.

The car ride to Port Angeles was very uncomfortable. Embry was behind the steering wheel and Jackie sat next to him. That meant Jacob and I were sitting in the back. Just the two of us. Jackie and Embry were talking about some inside joke and their laughter just made the silence between Jacob and me even more awkward.

I tried my very best to not look at him but that's not so easy when he's sitting so close to me. I kept glancing at him from the corner of my eye. He looked amazing as always. He was wearing this shirt that definitely accentuated his muscles. The way he looked made me want to grab him. And at the same time it made me too aware of how plain I looked in my hoodie. The obvious difference between us almost made me want to cry.

Embry finally pulled in to the parking lot of some diner I had gone to before. Looking at the hour, I realised that he had made a detour. Why would he do that? There were only two options. Option one: for some unknown reason Embry was scared to go through Forks because he had driven around it instead of through. Option two: Embry wanted to torture me even longer by letting me sit this long next to Jacob. Option number two sounded more likely.

I practically burst out of the car, happy that I could be away from Jacob. It wasn't for long though. We sat down at a small table and Jackie insisted that she and Embry sat next to each other.

Sitting next to Jacob was nerve-racking. I could feel his body heat through our clothes and it just made me realise how much I had missed him. I really did.

Luckily the atmosphere became more relaxed thanks to the other two. They were trying their very best to start up a conversation and after a while it was as though we were just old friends chatting away. I did notice that me and Jacob never talked directly to each other. And Jackie noticed it too.

At a certain point she had to go to the toilet but when I wanted t join us she told me no. So then there was just the three of us but not for long. Embry disappeared too, saying he was going to pay. And that just left me and Jacob sitting alone at the table in silence.

Knowing Jackie and Embry well enough to know they had set the whole thing up, made me realise they weren't going to come back any time soon. And had I not wanted to talk to Jacob? So why not now? I just had to find the courage that I had apparently lost at the beginning of the evening. Here goes nothing.

"Jacob?"

He turned towards me with a surprised look on his face. He didn't expect me to talk to him and I hadn't expected to actually be able to say something to him. So I had said his name, now what?

"I'm sorry."

Now he seemed even more shocked. As was I. Why was I even apologising? I had no idea but if it was going to make everything better somehow I'd gladly do it over and over again.

"Don't be."

He looked really upset right now. How had I not noticed this before? It was the most awful thing to behold. In that moment I realised what Jackie meant when she said her heart died a little whenever she saw Embry upset. This was exactly like it.

"I shouldn't have dropped a bomb on you like that. You had already made it very obvious before that you don't like me like that."

'But I do! I really do, more than anything! I want to go out with you, so badly!' I wanted to cry out but instead I said something stupid.

"I don't want to lose you as a friend though."

That was true of course except that what I felt for him wasn't really a feeling I had towards my friends.

"You could never lose me. I'm going to stick around forever." He smiled slightly.

And I believed him.


	17. The green monster within

_I just had to update again so soon because I have been on a roll for this story lately. I wrote two whole chapters yesterday and I just wanted to bribe you into giving me more reviews!_

**Chapter 17**

Everything was sort of back to normal between me and Jacob. I found myself staring at him way more than I did before. Calling ourselves actually friends for the first time made that slightly more okay. After that dinner I finally told Jackie everything that had happened between the two of us even though I had a feeling she already knew it. Of course I left out a few parts like how I really felt about Jacob and how much I lied when I told her I only thought of him as a friend. She didn't question it though and just said that maybe I'll eventually think about him differently. Strangely enough she looked almost as upset as Jacob when I told her I didn't have those feelings for him. I guess that messed with her plans of double dates.

I didn't want to lead Jacob on so I guess it would be a good thing to see Jacob hanging out with another girl. I just hadn't expected it to hurt this much. It felt like dying.

I had walked out of my classroom on Monday when I saw him talking to a girl named Jamie who was in my class. She was a really nice girl and pretty and smart and not as awkward with social situations as I am. When he noticed me standing in the hallway, he smiled at me but went back to his conversation.

The rest of the day was also strange. He would talk to other girls, all better than me and didn't pay any attention to me at all. He didn't even sit with me at lunch, he sat with Tara! I was angry, I was seething. And it wasn't just because it was Tara. He practically told me he liked me and now he's acting like this? I guess this just proves that I made the right decision by not going out with him. He probably would have realised soon that I'm more boring than he thought I was and dump me for the next best thing.

His flirting with other girls had me in a terrible mood all day so when I came home to find my brother sucking face with some blond bimbo on our couch, I snapped. I yelled some pretty awful things at him and called the girl a whore which they both didn't appreciate. She just looked so much like Tara.

So now I'm sitting at home all alone because my dad is at work and Bryan hasn't showed up since I held my little tirade. I'm just so good at pushing people away. I decided to go to bed soon but that was before I heard that awful howl coming from outside. Thinking it was Ash I quickly ran out of the house. If something was wrong with him, Bryan would kill me for sure.

As it turns out it wasn't Ash. It couldn't have been because he had apparently once again snapped his chain. Damn, now I had to find him in the dark at night because the stupid dog will never find his way back.

I wondered when he had ran away, I hadn't heard anything. Then again I had been spending the entire night cursing and swearing and I... had forgotten to feed Ash. Oh God, now Bryan was really going to have a fit.

Without pulling on my jacket I started walking along the road. How far would he get, right? Apparently very far. I had already reached First Beach and there was no sign of the stupid dog. Where was I supposed to look for him? I wasn't very excited about the idea of going in to the woods at night just to find Ash. He was so not worth me dying for. There had been a lot of bear attacks in the neighbourhood lately so there is no way I'm volunteering to be their next meal.

So what other choice did I have? I had to call someone with a car who would actually want to drive around town all night. Now who did I know who is crazy enough to do such a thing? I couldn't call Andy because he was going out with a girl, behind Dana's back. I could give Jackie a try although she was probably with Embry. I did call her and yes, she was with the boyfriend. She did propose someone else to drive me. She thought it would be just great if Jacob did and before I could stop her, she had already asked him. So now I am sitting here at First Beach waiting for him to come and pick me up.

I thought I would have to wait at least 20 minutes before he showed up but he was there in like 5 minutes. I was glad to see he had come in his truck. There is no way I'm sitting on a motorcycle right now. He came out of his truck and walked over to where I was sitting. He looked handsome like always and wasn't wearing a shirt this time. Boy, this night just turned around for the better.

"Hey, Erin."

I greeted him back but was secretly still checking him out. I just hope he didn't notice that.

"So are you ready to go on a dog search?"

He sounded as though he was excited about that. How could anybody be? I asked him if it didn't disturb with his plans for tonight but he was very vague about that. What the hell had he been doing? Oh god, what if he had a date? I could of course ask him but if the answer was yes, I think I'd die right here, right now.

I quickly climbed into his truck and we took off. The radio was our background music but we weren't really talking much. He was concentrated on driving and I was searching for Ash. After a few minutes he finally opened his mouth and how I wish right now he hadn't.

"I've got a date."

Surprisingly I didn't die but his words alone brought tears to my eyes. What was up with that? To make sure he didn't notice, I turned towards the window and pretended not to care.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, Jamie Walton asked me out."

Damn, of course it was also one of the most attractive girls in our school who wasn't a bitch. I actually liked Jamie. Well, doesn't that mean I should be happy for him. At least this girl would be good for him. Then why did I feel like begging him to not go out with her? I didn't have any right to ask him that, not after I turned him down.

"That's great."

I tried my best to sound a little happy for him but I think I failed miserably.

"I haven't said yes."

Now I turned to him in surprise. Why not?

"Do you think I should?"

It was the first time he looked me in the eyes tonight. It seemed as though he was looking for something in my eyes but couldn't find it.

Why was he asking me if I think he should go out with her? Of course he shouldn't do that. Jacob Black isn't hers, he's mine.

My whole body shivered. Why did I just think that? Jacob isn't mine, never was and never will be. Why the hell did I just think that? It was wrong and impossible. I slightly turned my head towards him again. He looked worried. Maybe he was afraid I would start yelling at him, as if I could do that.

"I-I think you should. She's a great girl." I said with my fake smile on. He bought it though.

He somehow seemed disappointed in my answer and pulled into my driveway. What were we doing here? We were supposed to find Ash. I couldn't go home without him. I asked Jacob what we were doing at my place but he just said Ash was at home. I didn't understand what he meant until I got out of the car and into the backyard. There was Ash, tied up again and munching on a piece of meat. How did he end up here? And how did Jacob know that?

_Reviews?_


	18. Jackie's epiphany

_Thank you so much for all the reviews I've gotten. I realised you're all looking forward to Erin going out with Jacob but unfortunately that's not going to be soon. I realised I was prolonging this a bit too much but I couldn't bear to delete some chapters. Hope you like this one though. Please review?_

**Chapter 18**

I didn't want to go to school on Monday. I was afraid I'd see Jacob and Jamie tongue wrestling with each other. Now that is a sight I wouldn't ever want to see. So I played into my dad's over protectiveness and made him think I was sick. He allowed me to skip school but I had to stay in bed. That suited me just fine. I didn't plan on doing anything at all that day and was starting to fall asleep again when my phone rang. I reluctantly picked it up when I saw it was Jackie calling me.

"What?"

Maybe not the nicest way to greet someone in the morning but I did say it in a non-hostile tone.

"Why aren't you in school?"

"I'm sick."

"Liar, you don't ever get sick."

"I do. Normally I just suck it up and go to school but not today. I really don't feel okay."

I said it so convincing that she just had to believe me. It was true in a way. I don't get sick a lot but when I think about Jacob with another girl I feel as though last night's dinner is coming back up.

"Oh, I'm sorry. So I guess you won't come to school at all today?"

I felt a bit bad about making her feel guilty so I told her she could come visit after school like she wanted to. She seemed pleased about it and hung up a few minutes later.

For the rest of the day nothing really happened. I slept for a while and when my dad left for work, I went downstairs to watch a movie. Bryan wouldn't be back soon, he never does. Jackie was only going to come by later. She was going to stay with Embry for a while of course. The door bell eventually rang and I let her in.

"So how are you feeling?" She asked me after she settled next to me on the couch.

"Better."

She looked at me as though she didn't believe me but decided to start up a conversation about something else anyway.

"I saw Jacob today."

How did every conversation between the two of us end up being about Jacob lately? And it was always at moments when I don't want to talk about him. I just grunted to pretend I didn't care about that gorgeous boy.

"He told me what happened last night."

I sat up a bit straighter. What had he told her? Nothing really happened last night, well not to him really. I on the other hand, had my heart ripped out. But he didn't know that, did he? I hoped he didn't.

"He was disappointed when you didn't seem to care."

Didn't care? I cared so much it is killing me. Of course I didn't tell her that because she would just announce it to the La Push gang. I just nodded instead but she did look at me a bit suspicious.

"So he went to talk to Jamie."

I had to stop her right there. I didn't want to hear how he had agreed to go out with her. I just had to distract Jackie from the conversation at hand. Anything coming from my mouth would be good so I just opened it without really thinking about what to say.

"Oh, I really don't want to hear about her. She's great and all but always butting in other people's business. Sure, she's pretty and smart and helpful but it's just considered rude to touch Jacob in front of other people. I mean, who does that? She's not as great as she looks. I heard she has an STD so he should stay away from her. Not that it's any of my business because even if Jacob gets her STD, what does it have to do with me? It's not like I'll catch it from him because we don't do anything."

I realised I was rambling after the first sentence but I really couldn't stop myself. I just had to let it all out and Jackie just took it in. She was looking at me the entire time with her mouth open, actually staring at me.

"Oh. My. God!"

Not really the reaction I was expecting from her. I thought she would just state that I was rambling and then turn her attention back to the TV. Why would she say 'Oh my god'? It didn't make any sense unless she-

"You like Jacob!"

-figured out I like Jacob! I started panicking. I hadn't meant to go and on like that and then have her figure everything out. Jackie wasn't the most observatory person so if she realised it, does that mean others did too? Did Jacob?

"You like Jacob! You like Jacob! You like Jacob!"

"Shut up, please! Someone might hear you!"

"That's what I want! You finally like Jacob."

Why won't she stop yelling so loud? She sounded way too excited.

"I knew it! I knew you would start feeling it once you got jealous and you-"

"What?"

I felt an animalistic growl coming up my throat. I felt like storming at her and break her little neck. I am not that violent, well not towards her, so why did I feel like this? So she had obviously been the one who gave Jacob the idea to make me jealous. Why would she do that? As fast as my anger had surfaced was as fast as it had disappeared again. I just felt betrayed right now. My best friend practically told the guy I like how to hurt me. Jackie noticed my change of attitude.

"Isn't this a good thing? Now you finally realised you like him."

"I didn't need this to know that."

"You already did?"

I just nodded. I guess in a way I had known the way I felt or at least how I could feel about Jacob when he first looked at me. I may not want to give in to my feelings but that doesn't mean I don't know they're there.

"I don't understand. If you like him just the way he likes you, then why won't you go out with him?"

"Because it's Jacob Black we're talking about."

She just looked at me confused. I assume my thoughts only make sense in my head and not hers. I was thinking of a way to make her understand but there were no words for it.

"I- I don't see why he would want to go out with me."

"Well, because he likes you. Isn't that obvious?"

"But why does he like me?"

"How should I know? Ask him yourself and while you're at it, please just agree to go out with him. You're killing him, you know that? And he's already been hurt enough."

All I could do was stare at her. Her little speech sounded a lot like Embry's but calmer. She was right about one thing though. She couldn't know why Jacob was interested in me. If I really wanted an answer, I would have to ask him. Now that's a scary prospect.

"It doesn't really matter. He's got Jamie now."

I couldn't stop the venom from lacing my voice. Jackie looked at me with what I can only call pity in her eyes. She stood up and picked her car keys up from the coffee table. If she was going to let me sit here all down and depressed, I will really have to rethink my opinion on our friendship. She didn't say anything to cheer me up. Before she walked out the door, she came by my side and put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"No, he doesn't. He turned her down."


	19. Natural Disaster

_Thank you for all the lovely reviews! Let me what you think about this chapter_

**Chapter 19**

I was beyond embarrassed. Thanks to Jackie knowing about how I feel, the La Push gang would know soon. She can't keep a secret from them, not even mine. One time I had come to school and Embry made a joke about how I cry during Disney movies. I couldn't believe she did that at the time but now I have learned that she just can't keep anything from Embry and unfortunately for me Embry can't keep anything from his friends. I am screwed but I'm not going to let that get in the way again. Today I am going to school but I'll still be doing it in a terrible mood. I was just coming down the stair when I bumped into my brother. Now one of us in a bad mood is awful but the two of us is just a lethal combination.

"Watch where you're going!"

"You're telling me that? You're the one who's practically throwing my down the stairs!"

If our dad had been home, he could have interfered and it just would have ended in the both of us storming off. But he had already left early in the morning for work.

"That's because you fat frame is taking up the entire staircase!"

"Look who's talking, chubby! You're practically waltzing through the house, eating up all our food for which you don't lift a finger."

"Because you're the goddess for cooking it, right!"

"Someone has to do it. You certainly won't do it!"

"If you weren't the total bitch that you are, we'd actually have a mother to do it for us!"

A car pulled up our driveway. I don't know what I would have said back if that hadn't happened. Bryan just turned around and closed the door behind him, leaving me to stand all alone in the hallway. Now this kind of argument happens more often than it should. I can't even count the number of times Bryan has lunged a comment like that at me and I'm sure he can't count the times I've accused him of being a burden to everyone. That doesn't mean it doesn't get to me. It does and it hurts.

When Jackie came to pick me up, she must have realised my terrible mood. Terrible isn't even the right word anymore at this point, I'd call myself a hurricane right now. I had already thrown a few awful comments at Jackie which she didn't deserve during the ten minute drive to school. She looked really relieved to get out of the car when we arrived at school. I can't really blame her for that, I'm just not good company right now.

I wanted to enter the school building when suddenly Dana popped up in front of me. No, I do not have it in me today to act civil towards her.

"Erin, you have to help me. I think Andy might be cheating on me."

"I don't have to do anything for you. And if Andy is cheating on you, it just means he finally grew a brain and realised what a joyless person you are. Now if you are done whining to me, move!"

Dana seemed absolutely shocked and didn't do anything when I shoved her out of the way. From the corner of my eye I could see Jackie's expression but I really didn't care. If there is anyone who knows not to mess with me on days like these, it's her. I'm sure Andy was going to kill me for this later but that was something for later. The worry on my mind right now is how to get through this day without making any enemies for life. Like that's possible.

It was almost lunch time and I had pissed off at least one person in each class. Jackie tried to talk to me about it because she said there is no way this was all about Jacob. It wasn't, I had practically forgotten about what had happened yesterday until she brought it up again. So far I've turned Andy, Jackie and Adam against me. All the people I care about. I thought it would be a good idea to stay away from the cafeteria so I decided to eat my lunch outside.

Of course the gods of luck couldn't give me a break because they send Jacob my way. He came to sit next to me, leaning against the gym.

"You don't seem to be in a good mood today."

I turned to look at him but didn't say anything. I was afraid that if I opened my mouth, some rude comment would come out and I didn't want to be mean to Jacob.

"I was wondering what it was that made you snap at everyone."

I really didn't want to answer his question but it would be rude to ignore him, so I just shrugged. I don't know why Jacob was so set on making conversation with me. Wasn't it obvious I wanted to be left alone?

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me. Why would you anyway? It's not like you owe me anything and if you don't want to tell me something personal, then you shouldn't have to."

What was that? Jacob black was rambling...because of me? The idea made me want to laugh my ass off but he looked so disappointed that I wasn't talking to him.

"I had a fight with my brother."

His reaction was clear enough to read off his face. He thought it was strange for me to be acting like an all-destructing disaster because I had gotten into a fight with my brother. Well, he obviously doesn't know my brother.

"I know that may sound stupid to you but I actually take it to hard when Bryan calls me a total bitch who scares off people."

"You don't scare off people. I'm still here aren't I?"

I turned to look at him. He looked absolutely adorable in his attempt to make me feel better. Surprisingly enough, he succeeded.

"Yeah, why is that? It's not like I've been nice to you."

"You haven't?"

He seemed genuinely shocked when I didn't call myself nice. Does this guy even know me at all?

"No, when I first met you, you made me want to punch you. I've had some pretty awful thought about you. I've even voiced some of them to you."

This is the moment Jacob will realise I really am a bitch and he will go for someone else, probably Jamie. Maybe it's for the best. Girls like me aren't supposed to get guys like him.

"But that's when you didn't know me, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Then it's okay. My thoughts about you aren't always nice either."

"Really?"

I had a hard time imagining Jacob being mean to someone, the same goes for thinking bad about someone. Somehow that seemed totally wrong to me. But I have heard him say something rude to Tara before.

"Worse than what you think about Tara?"

I just hope he doesn't like her but I've got a feeling he can't stand her anymore than I can.

"Never."

I smiled. Somehow Jacob always makes me smile. In just a few minutes he was able to make me stop moping around. That's something no one has ever accomplished before. He deserves a medal or something.

We talked about nothing special for another hour and we missed our next period. When the second one started, he said we should go to class. Reluctantly I agreed. It was a very awkward goodbye. At least on my part it was. It was the first time I made it show that I didn't want to leave him.

I had been in a much better mood and had apologised to my friends for my awful behaviour. Andy was a bit reluctant to forgive me but when I also apologised to Dana, he told me we were cool.

I wasn't done with apologising to everyone yet. I should tell Bryan sorry for snapping at him this morning although I think he hurt me a lot more than me him. Nonetheless I was going to apologise. What I didn't expect was to have Bryan apologise to me instead, out of his own free will! I told him it was okay and said sorry as well but asked him why he came around. Bryan never apologises.

He told me that a guy had cornered him in the parking lot and had demanded his apologies to me. The guy said Bryan had really hurt my feelings and that if he had some humanity in him, he would beg for my forgiveness. Somehow I got a hunch that Bryan wasn't telling me the full story. When I heard that, I was angry first. Who was threatening my brother like that? But then I realised that person was really doing it to help me but why? The only person who knew the reason I had been upset was Jacob and he doesn't seem like the threatening type to me at all but I guess I'm a bit biased.


	20. Bonding time

_Another chapter! I've been updating a lot lately, I'm just warning you not to get too used to it. Thanks for all the reviews I've gotten and it would be great if you also did it for this chapter._

**Chapter 20**

It was a few days after the whole Bryan fiasco and Jacob and I have had other talks like that. I found that it was really easy to talk to him, about pretty much anything.

Of course that didn't take away my fear of him finding out about my feelings. Every time the conversation started turning towards the direction of when I rejected him, I would come up with a reason why I had to leave. It was fairly obvious, I think Jacob was definitely on to me but maybe he just thought I did it because I really didn't like him. I hope that was it.

It was a Friday night and it was one of those rare evenings I would actually get the spend some girl time with Jackie. Her parents weren't home tonight so we decided to have a movie night. Sadly Andy couldn't come because he was once again spending time with Dana so we decided that we should just throw in a manicure as well. And when I say 'we', I really mean Jackie.

I was surprised that Jackie didn't try to bring Jacob up in our conversations once. She must have finally realised that it wasn't something I wanted to talk about. And no matter what she says, she won't be able to change my point of view.

"I had a very interesting conversation with Embry today."

I thought she always found their conversations interesting?

"And we came to the realisation that you and Embry don't know each other that well."

"So? It's not like he and I are dating. And I think he already knows way too much about me."

I glared at her so she would be aware that I was referring to her telling Embry about my feelings for Jacob. There was no doubt in my mind that she had told him.

"True but you are my best friend and Embry is my im- boyfriend so it would mean so much to me if you would get along with each other."

"But we do get along so I don't really see where you're trying to go with this."

"I just thought it would be nice if you hang out together, alone."

I wanted to ask her why. It's not like I've got anything against Embry but I wasn't too happy about spending time with just the two of us. Before I could say no, she gave me her pity look. Oh god, no! I suck at refusing her something when she's looking at me like that.

Before I fully realised what I was doing, I had already nodded my consent to her. She in turn was jumping up and down on the couch. She's so weird!

So Jackie is the reason why Embry and I are hanging out today. Jackie had decided for us that we were going hiking. Hiking! As if she actually thought I would enjoy it. Embry looked like he was having a bad time as well. Somewhere along the way I had decided to whine about Jackie, just so I could see Embry's reaction.

"Jackie can be so annoying sometimes. Well, all the time really. I don't understand why you're dating her."

Of course that was all a lie. I couldn't really understand why she was dating Embry actually. She had always found it creepy when he and the others were terrorising the hallway but that was before they started talking to each other.

"What? How can you possibly say such a thing! About your best friend! She could never be annoying, she's the most wonderful person in the world and if you don't agree, you don't deserve to be in her life."

He was shaking now as though he was going to explode in fury. Maybe I had taken it a bit too far? But how could I have known he would react this way?

"Relax Embry, I was just trying to rile you up." I smiled at him.

Slowly he calmed down and stopped shaking. Which reminds me: Jacob also starts shaking when he's angry and... Paul Hanson does too. They really are similar.

"How come you guys always shake when you get angry?"

Embry stopped. He slowly turned around to me as if he was afraid I was going to run away if he wasn't cautious.

"What do you mean?"

Why was he sounding so suspicious?

"Just now, when you got angry, you started shaking. Jacob does it too."

"So you've been watching Jacob?" He suddenly grinned.

What? How had we come to this conversation? Again?

"N-no. It's just, just something that's hard to miss."

If only I could have said that sentence without stuttering. Unfortunately Embry had heard the obvious lie in my voice.

"You're not that good at lying, Erin."

Great, now he was smiling. At my expense. I was not enjoying myself at all.

"It's okay if you have been watching Jacob. We all know he has been watching you."

And then I fell. I really did. The shock of hearing Embry say that Jacob had watched me could have been enough to make me faint. It just made me trip on air this time. And of course Embry found it hilarious. He was just laughing his ass off without even suggesting to help me up. I had to do it all by myself.

"Was it such a big shock to you?" He laughed.

"Shut up. There was a stick."

"Oh, really?"

He didn't sound like he believed me at all and why would he? It was a blatant lie! When Embry was finally all laughed out, he stuck out his hand to help me up. Stubborn as I am, I got up without accepting his help. He didn't seem fazed by it. He just shrugged and started walking again.

"Just to be sure. What did you mean by watching? Like babysitting? Making sure I don't beat Tara to a pulp?"

I couldn't help but ask. I just had to know and I had already embarrassed myself enough today. I'm sure I had reached the limit by now.

"Definitely not like babysitting."

It felt like a whole weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Good, that means he doesn't think of me as a little kid. You could have fooled me by the way he's acting. The other day I had a paper cut on my finger and he wouldn't let me touch any paper for the rest of the day. Like I was a big baby that had to be stopped from hurting herself.

"Like what then?"

"Like I look at Jackie."

And with these words he got that dazed expression on his face. The same expression my best friend gets when talking about Embry. Is that the way I look when I think about Jacob? Hopefully not because that would make the whole hide-your-feelings-for-Jacob a big failure. Probably not because if I did, Jackie wouldn't have been so surprised to find out how I felt.

"Which is exactly why I don't understand the reason you don't want to go on a date with him. And don't even try to deny it, you're obviously in love with Jacob."

I was full out glaring at him at this point. Who was he to just assume that he knew how I felt? Well, he didn't just assume. He knew, thanks to the fact that my best friend is a blabber mouth. That thought just made me glare even more at Embry.

"If it's any consolation, I really had to try my all to get her to tell me."

That didn't really make me feel much better.

"Does this mean that Jacob..."

"He doesn't know."

Thank god!

"But that doesn't mean he hasn't been trying. He knows that I know something and he's pretty desperate to get it out of me. But who wouldn't be desperate after all the times you've turned him down?"

I felt really guilty now. The way Embry said it, I sounded like a bitch who's stringing the good guy along. And Jacob is definitely one of the good guys. Not a lot of boys would drive around town with you in the middle of the night to look for a dog.

"Just so you know, his offer still stands."

What? Jacob still wanted to go out with me? Was he still waiting for me to finally agree to go on a date with him?

"He would wait forever for you."

I swear Embry can read my mind!


	21. The field trip

_Thanks for all the reviews! Feel free to do it again..._

**Chapter 21**

As much as the hiking/ bonding time with Embry had sucked, it had given me a whole new perspective on my feelings for Jacob. Weeks ago I had figured out it wasn't plain attraction and decided to call it a crush. But that didn't seem right anymore. Maybe it is time I come to terms with the fact that I have fallen hopelessly in love with Jacob Black.

We were having a field trip today. Yeah, I know it's supposed to be fun and all, being out of school but that's not the case when the school decides to have a field trip to...the woods. Yep, our amazing biology teachers thought it would be a blast to collect earth samples ourselves. What a joy!

So we were all standing in the parking lot with our boots strapped on and sachets in hand. Andy was telling me and Jackie some story about his weekend but I really couldn't care less. My eyes were glued to the back of Jacob's head. Even that part of him made me all mushy inside. What was wrong with me? I tried really hard to focus on what Andy was saying but found it hopeless after 5 minutes of not being able to pull my eyes away. I was just hoping he wouldn't turn around. Apparently luck was on my side today for a change because he didn't. I could however see Embry smiling knowingly next to Jacob. That boy gets on my nerves.

"Erin?"

"Huh?"

Jackie smiled at me as though she knew the reason why I hadn't been paying attention. She probably did know.

"Are you coming with us or will you keep staring off in space like that?"

I hadn't noticed that everyone was already moving closer to the forest. I quickly followed after Jackie and Andy. I didn't want to get a detention because I missed the entire field trip due to staring at the back of Jacob's head. How would I explain that at home?

In the middle we stopped and listened to our teacher explaining the purpose of the assignment. Halfway through I decided it really wasn't that interesting. I started to look around instead. I liked the woods. I wasn't scared of them like Jackie was but I wasn't as fond of them as Andy. He always found it cool to go on 'adventures' in the woods. We got lost a lot when we were kids.

Suddenly everyone went in a different direction. Oops, maybe it would have been better if I had actually listened to the teacher. I seemed a bit lost and my two great friends were nowhere to be found. That's just perfect!

"You lost, little girl?"

I turned around in fright and really felt the need to punch the person.

"Must you be so creepy, Jacob?"

He seemed a little hurt by me calling him a creep but the look had passed his face so quickly, that I can't be sure. We were the only people in the clearing and it was making me feel very uncomfortable after this morning's revelation.

"Why aren't you doing the assignment?" he asked.

"Well, I kind of missed what it's about."

That made him smile but I'm not sure if it was directed to me or at my expense. He reached out his hand to me all of the sudden. What was he doing?

"We can do the assignment together?"

Hell yeah! Of course I didn't actually say that out loud but I did grab his hand and let him pull me further in the woods. Maybe this field trip wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"So the point of this 'trip' is to collect different earth samples in the woods."

I was glad that he didn't seem to find this field trip very interesting as well. He could have fooled me with that big smile plastered on his face.

"We have to put a little bit of the earth in a satchel and write down the qualities and compare it with the others we've already discussed in class."

God, that sounded boring but maybe it wouldn't be that bad if I got to do it with Jacob. We decided to walk a little bit further so we could get different samples then the most people. They all seemed to stay close to the school area but Jacob knew the woods pretty well so I had faith that we wouldn't get lost.

We were actually doing well on the assignment even though I kept glancing at Jacob. I was having fun being around him as always but Embry had put a new idea in my head. What would it be like if Jacob and I went on a date? There wouldn't be anyone else and it would be like saying I'm in love with Jacob. Which I am but still... Was I prepared to endure the awkwardness of the situation by going on a date with him? I would be lying if I said I hadn't imagined what it would be like.

My trail of thoughts was interrupted by Jacob when we made it to one of the cliffs at the beach. Some of the kids jump of the cliffs for kicks but I had never come up here before. It was beautiful. You could see the entire shore with the woods behind it. From this point of view, you couldn't even see any of the houses. For a moment it felt like it was just the two of us in the middle of nowhere.

"Do you like the view?"

"It's beautiful." I said without giving my answer much thought.

Jacob went to sit on a log nearby and patted the seat next to him as a sign for me to sit down, which I did. It had been a while since I sat so close to him. I had almost forgotten how warm he was. We could be on the North pole and he would still be warm enough to keep me from the cold. He was like a portable heather.

"Sooo, do you come her a lot?"

Nice one, Erin. You obviously put a lot of thought in that one. But I soon forgot about that when I heard Jacob's booming laugh next to me. I made Jacob laugh!

"The guys and I come here a lot to go cliff diving but we usually go to the higher ones."

He pointed towards the other cliffs which were indeed higher, a lot higher. They were like perfect-to-commit-suicide-high. Were they nuts?

"But that's dangerous! You could practically kill yourself that way."

Jacob laughed again but it didn't make me feel happy this time. He wasn't taking my concern for him seriously. I crossed my arms angrily and refused to look at him again. Once he realised that, he stopped laughing and turned towards me.

"Are you mad?"

What a typical guy response! Of course I was mad, why else would I act like this? Idiot!

"Duh! I tell you I'm worried and you laugh in my face."

And instead of apologising, he started laughing again. I was about to get up and walk away when I was being pulled back. Into Jacob's side. My anger melted away like snow in front of the sun. Jacob Black was hugging me. I think I died and went to heaven.

"Silly Erin! I can't get hurt. I'm like...superman. It's just for kicks, it's not like I have a death wish. Because if I died I would never get to see your beautiful face again."

Yep, I'm in heaven. There is no way Jacob would say such a thing in real life. As long as I'm in this fantasy I might as well enjoy it to the fullest. So I hugged him back. Jacob suddenly went rigid. Maybe he didn't want me to hug him. I was going to pull away again when his arms tightened around me. Not in the painful way but as if he didn't want to let me go. He sighed in my hair and I never wanted him to leave again.

After a while I had to pull away again. There was something he needed to hear and I couldn't think straight when he was so close to me. He reluctantly loosened the hold he had on me. I took a few steps back so I could look him in the eye. He had a straight expression on his face that made it impossible to figure out what he's thinking.

"I really like spending time with you, Jacob. But there is something-"

"You don't have to say it, Erin."

He interrupted me before I could finish the sentence. And it had taken me so much time to find the courage for those twelve little words.

"You want to be just friends and I'm sorry my behaviour was inappropriate. I won't try to hug you again or say that you're beautiful if you don't like it. I'm sorry I overstepped the line."

How was I supposed to say otherwise after those words? He seemed upset. I guess he was still waiting for me to come around. That gave me the courage to say the next thing.

"That's not really what I was going to say. I was going to say that if you still want to, I would really like to go on a date with you."

I closed my eyes in fear of what was going to come next. Was he going to tell me he had already found another girl or was he going to tell me that he wanted to go on a date as well. Would he laugh at my face or was he going to hug me again? There are so many things that he could do, so I was surprised when nothing happened.

When I looked up Jacob had a ridiculous expression on his face. It was a mix between happiness, shock and the expression he always has on his face when he looks at me. I guess that's a good thing, right?

"Jacob?"

But he wasn't responding. The dazed expression on his face must have meant he was off to lalaland. I giggled. I know, I never do that but at least it got Jacob out of his trance. He was finally looking at me and took my hands in his.

"I thought you were never going to say that."

And then he pulled me in for another hug.

_So this is the chapter you've all been waiting for, right? Hope you liked it, let me know xx_


	22. Old promises & new ones

_Thank you guys so much for all the lovely reviews! Because you had too wait so long until finally let Erin agree to go out with Jacob, I made this chapter much longer than the average length. Please Review..._

**Chapter 22**

I had joined Jacob in his trip to Lalaland for the rest of the day and wasn't planning to leave it any time soon. The little field trip had ended right before lunch and we had class in the afternoon. The classes passed in a blur for me and I failed to take any notes. When I returned to my locker after class, I noticed someone had put a little note in it.

_I'll pick you up at 7:30 Friday? Here's my number_

_Looking forward to it._

_Jacob_

The note didn't say anything special but reading it made my heart flutter anyway. I was also looking forward to it but it was Thursday today. That meant I only had a little over 24 hours to decide what to wear. As much as I hate to admit it, I was going to need Jackie's expertise.

Jackie had gone crazy when I told her I had a date planned with Jacob. Her happiness was practically bouncing of the walls in my room. After she had finally came down from her high, she picked out my outfit for tomorrow. She also wanted to come over Friday to do my make-up but I wouldn't let her. She would probably change me into a real Barbie doll.

I was very grateful that my dad wasn't going to be home tonight. How was I supposed to leave on a date with Jacob if he was at the house? There is no way he would let me walk out of the door, he'd probably tie me to a chair to prevent it. And I'm not joking. Unfortunately for me there was another living soul at home: Bryan. My brother could keep his mouth shut... as long as there's something in it for him. I was making my way downstairs when he noticed my presence in the hallway.

"Where are you going?"

There was no need denying the fact that I was going somewhere. I normally don't walk around in the house with killer heels on and a skirt that makes me way too aware of the fact that people could see a lot of naked skin.

"I..euhm...I've got a date."

"Really? Who would want to go out with you?"

You got to love my brother. I decided not to answer his question but to get straight to the point instead.

"Dad wouldn't like it very much so I'd really appreciate it if you would keep that to yourself."

Judging by the grin on his face, he's realised this could benefit him.

"Okay, I see where you're going but if I do that, there has got to be something I get in return. I get the truck for a whole week. No, make that two weeks and you have to get to school on your own because I'm not giving you a ride."

"Fine!"

What else was I going to say? At least Jackie could give me a lift those weeks if I played nice to her tomorrow. I was going to see her then because she decided we needed to have a boast-about-your-date-day.

I had only just given into Bryan's condition when the doorbell rang. Before I even had the chance to make it down the stairs, Bryan had already opened the front door.

"Hi, is Erin home?"

"No, she isn't. This is painful but... she ditched you."

"Bryan!"

I quickly made my way towards the door so I could push Bryan back. Why couldn't my family just act civil towards Jacob? First my dad and now my brother. Jacob must think were cave men or something.

"You look amazing."

When I looked at Jacob I was just about to tell him the same thing. He was wearing black trousers and a white button up shirt. He looked indeed amazing and I was just standing there blushing like an idiot.

"Her curfew is at ten, don't be late."

And then Bryan ruined the moment. I was going to hit his arm again but Jacob stopped me.

"I'll make sure she'll be back in time."

Bryan just kept glaring at him. What was his problem? Jacob just kept smiling at me as if my brother wasn't trying to glare him to death. He offered me his hand and lead me to his car. Once I settled in the front seat, I turned the radio up in the hope that Jacob wouldn't notice my lack of speech caused by the nerves.

"So... where are we going?"

"I spend an awful lot of time thinking about where I could take you but Jackie told me not to overdo since you don't like such things."

I turned to him in surprise.

"You asked Jackie for help?"

"Well, yeah."

He was scratching the back of his head. I was making Jacob nervous. It's good to know I wasn't the only one whose nerves were the killing kind right now.

"It took so long before you finally agreed to go out with me. Now that you have, I don't want to mess it up."

Even though he brought the conversation to a sore point, I couldn't help but feel a bit impressed he would put so much effort in our date. I decided to change the subject before things got a little too touchy.

"I'm sorry my brother was such an ass to you before. Sometimes I think he was raised by monkeys but I'm guessing that would be an insult to my dad."

He chuckled a little bit and it made me even more attracted to him.

"That's okay. He was just being a protective brother. Can't say I haven't done the same when I was his age."

Protective brother? Bryan? No, that definitely wasn't it. I couldn't think of a reason why Bryan had acted that way. He had never made a fuss before when I went out with a guy.

"No, it was more as if he had some kind of dislike towards you."

The moment I opened my big fat mouth, I already regretted it. Why would I say such a thing? But Jacob's reaction wasn't what I had expected. I thought he would just look hurt or something but he tensed up as if I had mentioned a bad memory.

"Jacob? Is there a reason why my brother wouldn't like you?"

He sighed to show me he clearly didn't want to talk about it but started talking anyway.

"I've met your brother before. I had gotten kind of angry at him and I guess that's why he doesn't like me very much. I was also pretty rude to him."

He sounded guilty about it but what he had said had made the wheels turn in my head.

"You were the one who told Bryan to apologise to me after we had that fight. I guess it makes sense since you were the only one I told about it."

Jacob hunched his shoulders as if he was ashamed that he had done such a thing.

"Thank you."

I smiled at him and even though he was surprised by it, he quickly gave me his trademark smile in return.

After a little bit of small talk we finally made it to Port Angeles. He took my hand and started leading me through some small streets but I wasn't paying attention to the direction we were going. Jacob was obviously holding my hand! Who would think about anything else? It always surprises me how warm Jacob feels to my skin. And I've never seen him wear a jacket either. It's as if he doesn't feel the cold anymore because he's running on a high temperature.

My thoughts were abruptly cut off when Jacob stopped in front of a small restaurant. It looked really cosy and I liked the soft music that was playing in the background. Jacob left me for a minute to go and talk to the guy standing by the door. Even though he was standing a little bit in front of me, I missed how close he had been before.

After his conversation with the man, he turned back towards me and took my hand in his again. It made me feel perfectly at ease as if nothing bad could ever happen to me as long as Jacob was holding my hand. The man lead us towards the end of the restaurant, to the terrace. He showed us to our table and left after giving us the menu.

"I hope you like it. I know you're usually not into the whole romantic display so I tried not to overdo it."

Hihi, I'm making Jacob nervous again. He was right when he said I don't like all the romantic stuff much but with Jacob I don't really mind.

"I think it's great."

I'm starting to think nothing is going to get the smile of his face now. He was practically beaming. I guess that means this date is just as important to him as it is to me. I looked down at the menu to decide on my meal but I could feel Jacob's eyes on me the entire time. That's why I was really surprised when he gave the waiter his order. He hadn't even looked at the menu at all.

Our dinner hadn't arrived yet so I couldn't pretend to be occupied by eating. Fortunately Jacob started the conversation.

"Tell me something about yourself."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Something most people don't know about you, something only your friends now."

I had to think about that. There are a lot of things my friends know that others don't but that's all very personal. I threw a glimpse at Jacob. Well, I guess I trust him enough to tell him something personal. After all, he has done the same.

"I wanted to become a country singer when I was little. Don't laugh!" Okay, that's probably not the kind of thing he had been hoping for but it was a start.

"I wasn't going to. Why would I? I bet you would be a great one."

"That's because you haven't heard me sing yet."

Up until our food arrived, we joked around and I was starting to wonder what I had been so afraid of before. Being with Jacob was easy, it felt like a completely natural thing to do. I found myself smiling a lot this evening and that's not something I usually do.

During the meal itself, we talked about unimportant things but it was nice. We hadn't done anything really special but so far this was turning out to be the best first date I've had so far. Eventually Jacob asked for the bill and helped me up after he paid for our dinner.

"What would you like to do now? I could take you back to the car or we could go for a walk around town. The boulevard here is really nice."

Jacob did a terrible job at hiding his hopeful tone. He obviously didn't want this date to end and neither did I. That's how we ended up walking hand in hand through Port Angeles. Did you hear me say _'hand in hand'_?

"Are you going to Embry's birthday party this Sunday?"

"Yeah, Jackie is forcing me but I guess it could be fun."

"Good because I have a surprise for you."

"Huh? What!"

"A surprise is when I give you something but you don't know what you'll be getting in advance."

"Haha. What I meant was, why do you have a surprise for me?"

"But we made that deal, remember? I was going to fix up the old car and you would let me buy something with the money I made, right?"

He sounded unsure as if he was afraid I was going to refuse whatever it was he had gotten me. To be honest, I had completely forgotten about the deal we had made and had hoped he would have done the same thing. It still didn't feel right to accept anything from Jacob without a reason. I just hoped it wasn't something big. It wouldn't surprise me if he had gotten me a motorcycle instead of a car.

"It's not a motorcycle, is it?"

"No, it isn't. Why? You don't like motorcycles?"

"Not really."

Jacob suddenly got this shocked expression on his face when he turned me towards him.

"But...but you rode with me on one."

Whoops, that was right. But it had been different then. He had been so proud and excited about going with me for a ride and it had been the perfect excuse to hold on to him without looking like a stalker.

"Well,... It's not like there was another option."

"If you didn't want to ride on it, you should have just told me."

Now he looked just sad. Why was this upsetting him so much?

"It's not like I hated it that much."

Honestly? I had adored being so close to him for the first time. Of course, I wasn't going to tell him that.

"It's just that a lot of accidents happen with motorcycles and they make me kind of nervous."

"I promise you right now that you will never have to ride on it again."

He just looked so serious while making that promise to me that I rolled my eyes at him and laughed. He could be so weird sometimes.

The rest of the conversation had been made up out of lighter material and he didn't have another guilt attack. All in all, it was a successful date. Eventually we made our way to Jacob's car and we drove back to la Push.

The closer we got to the reservation, the more I started to get nervous again. The end of the date was approaching fast and then there would be the goodbye. Would Jacob walk me back to the door? I think he would. He's a real gentleman most of the time. So he would walk me to the door and then what? Would he just say 'see you' or something alike or will he give me hug, a kiss on the cheek, on the lips maybe. Now that I'm thinking about it, I really wouldn't mind at all if he kissed me on the lips. Now I'm starting to hope he will.

Oh shit, he cut off the engine. I hadn't even noticed that we had made it to my driveway. I was relieved to see my dad still wasn't home. That was something less to worry about. Jacob opened my door and helped me to get out of the car. He was still holding my hand when we walked up to the front door. He hasn't let me down so far. We stopped and Jacob turned his body toward me. This was it!

"I really had a great time tonight, Erin. Thank you for giving me this opportunity."

He was making our date sound like a job interview but I didn't care. All my attention was focused on the proximity of his body to mine. He was standing really close to me right now. Any moment now and he could lean down. God, I wanted him to do that so much, it was starting to freak me out.

"And I hope we can do this again?"

He's so cute when he's being all hopeful and insecure.

"I'd really like that."

He smiled down at me. Yes, down because he's definitely 2 heads taller than me. I was very aware of the fact we were both staring into each others' eyes. Those swirling shades of brown in those beautiful eyes of his were practically hypnotising me. Oh my god, he just looked at my lips. Stay calm, Erin. Stay calm.

He started leaning down and I thought I was going to die. I hadn't realised how much I had wanted him to kiss me until this very moment. Just as I was about to lean toward him as well, he stopped. What was he doing? He sighed deeply and then suddenly he was gone. When I opened my eyes again I saw him making his way towards the car while mumbling a goodbye to me. What the hell had just happened?

_Do you all hate me now...?_


	23. Intervention

_Thanks for all the reviews! I would love to have some more for this chapter xx_

**Chapter 23**

Not being kissed by Jacob had made last night the worst first date ever! What was wrong with him? I was practically offering myself to him and he just walks away. What was wrong with me?

I wasn't in the mood for Jackie's boast-about-your-date-day so I just didn't show up when she had asked me to. Of course my best friend doesn't let me get rid of her so easily so 15 minutes later she was harassing my doorbell. My dad had opened the door and a second later she was already standing in my room.

"Why were you a no show? I find it hard to believe you just forgot it since I've been reminding you about it since you told me about your date. What happened?"

She left me no choice but to tell her about what happened. She was getting really excited towards the end, probably expecting a full make out session. Boy, was she going to be disappointed.

"And then he left."

"What! That can't be right. Where was the goodnight kiss? There had to be a goodnight kiss."

"There wasn't, okay!"

Keep rubbing it in my face, won't you. She sat down defeated on my bed.

"I don't get it."

"Why don't you get? I was waiting for Jacob to kiss me and he didn't want to."

"Of course he wanted to. He's been chasing you for weeks now and was practically peeing his pants from excitement for this date."

"Maybe he's just not physically attracted to me and was completely revolted by the idea of putting his lips on mine."

I didn't see the flying pillow in time to duck.

"That's not true and you know it. I just don't understand what went wrong."

"That makes two of us." I mumbled.

"But I am going to figure it out."

That didn't sound good. Luckily I was able to jump in front of her and prevent her from leaving my room without a proper explanation.

"Wow, hold your horse, missy! What do you think you're going to do?"

"I'm going to march up to Jacob and demand he tells me what the hell got into him last night."

"You can't do that!"

"Why not?"

Sometimes she can be so daft.

"Because this is already embarrassing enough without you making it worse. I can deal with the humiliation of being turned down like that but not if you're going to let Jacob and the entire La Push gang know about how disappointed I am."

"You think Jacob would humiliate you like that?"

I don't really think Jacob is that kind of guy but I wouldn't pass it on Embry. Speaking of her boyfriend.

"Jackie, you have to promise me you won't tell Embry."

"Tell him what? That Jacob didn't kiss you? I'm pretty sure Jacob must have already told him that by now."

"You can't tell him how disappointed I am that he didn't kiss me. This is really important, Jack! Please just keep this one thing to yourself."

"Eriiiiin! You don't know how hard it is to keep anything from him. It already kills me when I can't tell him what I ate for lunch."

They have some weird conversations going on between the two of them. After some pleading and begging and right after I actually went down on my knees for her, she finally promised me she would try her very best to keep her mouth shut. She did make me promise to go to Embry's birthday party after all but I guess that way I can keep an eye on her. I was going to watch her like a hawk and make sure she wouldn't get any time alone with Embry.

Since I had practically handed my car over to Bryan for the next two weeks, I needed Jackie to play taxi for me. This could work in my advantage. Arriving at the party with Jackie would mean she didn't have time before it to talk to Embry.

When we got out of the car she immediately ran up to Embry who had been on his porch talking to some guy I didn't know. I was following right behind her, I was going to be her shadow for the day.

After Jackie finally unlocked her lips from his (it's just so rude considering I don't get kisses from anyone), I wished him a happy birthday. Figuring it would have been rude to show up empty handed, I had bought him a birthday card with an ugly penguin in the front who was trying to be funny and a DVD.

"Thank you, Erin. There are drinks and food inside." He said while pulling Jackie to sit down next to him.

"Thanks, but I want see what Jackie bought you." I told him when I went to sit on his other side which resulted into him giving me a strange look.

"Euhm...okay, I guess?"

Jackie didn't seem to think much about it when she handed him her present excitedly. Embry's suspiciousness flew out the metaphorical window when he eagerly started to unpack his gift. I had to admit Jackie had a good taste in giving people gifts. I always look forward to her presents. Embry pulled out a videogame from the remnants of the paper. If she would have gotten me a gift like that I would have been totally disappointed but Embry seemed to be really happy about it.

After he thanked her, they were once again locking lips while I was sitting next to them. It made me feel very uncomfortable and I was dying to get away from them but if I did, Jackie would start to spill my guts to him. I couldn't let that happen.

"Jackie and I are going to get something to drink, Embry. We'll leave you and the videogame alone so you can have some bonding time."

I quickly pulled Jackie to her feet and dragged her in the house. There were a lot of people I didn't know in the house but they all looked a lot alike. Most of the guys were only wearing shorts and were really buff while the other men were just too old to pull that off. I noticed a few girls in the room but they were definitely a minority.

A girl came up to say hi to Jackie and introduce herself to me. It wasn't until she mentioned her name, that I realised we were talking to Kim Conweller. She looked really good. Had she always been this pretty?

We made some small talk and I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Jackie was sneaking away from us. I quickly excused myself and followed her into the kitchen. I found her talking to an older woman who looked a bit like Embry, I'm guessing that's Mrs Call. I introduced myself to her as well but stopped Jackie this time when she was once again trying to sneak off.

"What's the matter, Erin? I was just going to say hello to some people."

"You can't leave me all by myself. I don't know anyone here."

"Don't be so dramatic. And you do know these people. You go to school with most of them."

"That doesn't count. It's not like I make conversation with those guys on a daily basis."

"Well, now seems like a great time to start. I'm not planning on babysitting you all day."

Despite her words I still followed her around for another hour until she got really annoyed by it and pushed me into a corner.

"Sit down and sulk for all I care. Just stop watching my every move."

I figured it couldn't hurt to sit down for a while. The room wasn't that big after all and I could keep a good eye on what Jackie and Embry were doing the entire time. When Jackie realised I was going to stay here, she walked up to some people and started making conversation.

"Hey."

I almost had a heart attack when the person next to me started talking. I hadn't realised there was even a person sitting beside me. And who else would it be but Jacob? I'm sure Jackie didn't just push me in a random corner that happened to contain Jacob.

"Oh, hi."

Yes, I am the master of conversing. The acute nervous attack made me look down at my hands instead of at Jacob. It didn't help however because he even scooted a little closer to me.

"How have you been?"

"Why are you acting as though we haven't seen each other in a while? It's only been two days!"

Oh no! Bitchy Erin was starting to rise to the surface and she was going to make the mess that is the Jacob-Erin relationship even more chaotic.

"Did I do something wrong?"

I fact he had but it's not like he knew about it. Maybe he hadn't even leaned down that night and it had all been in my head. It wasn't fair for me to be angry at him. Besides he sounded kind of sad right now.

"No, I just had a fight with my brother."

Who knew our awful sibling relationship was going to come in handy one day. I just hope Jacob didn't realise I was lying to him.

"You want me to go talk to him again?"

"No! I mean that won't be necessary. It was sort of my fault anyway."

If he would ask Bryan about it, Jacob would definitely find out I had been lying to him.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

God, why did he have to be such a sweet, compassionate boy? That makes it so much harder to be mad at him.

"Not really."

"Don't worry too much about it. I'm sure it will all work out in the end."

He was smiling at me to make me feel better but it just made me feel even more guilty for lying to him.

"So about that surprise-"

I'm sure whatever Jacob said next would have interested me but my gaze was being drawn to Jackie and Embry at the other side of the room. It would have been just fine if they were making out again but they were actually talking to each other. I couldn't risk having her tell him about what I told her so I quickly said sorry to Jacob and made my way over to the happy couple.

"Hey there, birthday boy. Are you guys enjoying yourselves?"

Jackie already rolled her eyes when she realised it was me. I'm pretty sure she's on to me right now.

"Hey, Erin. Yes, we are. It's really nice to have everyone in one room at the same time."

And then there was silence. Judging by the look on Embry's face, I'm guessing he's trying to get rid of me by mental power. If he's thinking things happen if you just want them hard enough, he was going to be disappointed. Because I sure as hell had really wanted Jacob to kiss me and that didn't happen.

"I'm just going to steal Jackie away from you. She really wanted to introduce me to someone and I don't want to disappoint her."

Embry seems sort of sad that Jackie wanted to leave his side even for a second but nodded anyway. In the mean time Jackie was staring at me as if I had just lost my mind. She just sighed and pulled me over towards the biggest and scariest man in the room. Maybe I should have used some other excuse.

"Erin, this is Sam. Sam, this is Erin, my obnoxious friend."

The tall guy looked at me as though hearing my name rang a bell. He put out his hand for me which I shook nervously. What was it about all these guys that made me so uncomfortable?

"I've heard a lot of great things about you."

"Jackie tends to exaggerate a little."

"I wasn't just talking about her. I've been hearing quite a lot of good things about you from-"

"Jacob!"

He had suddenly showed up behind the Sam guy and gave me a heart attack. He was grinning stupidly at me and greeted Sam afterwards.

"Here you are. You left so suddenly before."

"Oh, right. I'm sorry. Jackie had something she needed my help with."

I hope he didn't see the sarcastic look on her face. I don't think so because he was looking at me when she did that. He was about to open his mouth to say something, probably what I had cut off last time but I saw Jackie trying to make her way over to Embry again. I quickly interfered and dragged her back to Sam and Jacob.

"So how did you and Sam meet again, Jackie?"

"We met through Embry. He... sort of works for Sam."

"How do you sort of work for someone?"

Suddenly the three of them got this awkward look on their faces. What was up with that? But at least now Jackie wasn't trying to get away again. Jacob was the first to answer my question.

"The tribe council wants people to patrol around town to make sure everything is alright and they put Sam in charge. We all work for Sam but it's really just for the greater good."

His words didn't seem like a lie to me but there was something fishy about it. The fact that Jackie and Sam looked relieved after I told Jacob I understood, was giving it away as well.

"Now that I have your full attention, I wanted to talk to you about my surprise for you."

I was getting a bit curious about his surprise but my attention was once again drawn to Jackie who was entering the kitchen. I quickly scanned the room but couldn't find Embry anywhere.

"Sorry, I've got to go."

I made my way to the kitchen and it turned out I was right. Embry and Jackie were talking to each other!

"Hey, Jackie! There you are. I've got something really important-"

"Go away!"

It definitely surprised me Embry could be so rude to me. He keeps his calm most of the time but I guess it really pissed him off that I kept dragging his girlfriend away from him.

"Jeez, Embry. There's no need to act mean. I just wanted to-"

"Wanted to what? You've been interfering all day. Leave us alone."

Wow, I really felt like the third wheel right now and Jackie must have noticed my slightly decreased mood.

"It's okay, Embry. Me and Erin have to talk about something. I'll be right back."

This time it was my best friend who pulled me out of the door instead of the other way around. She was leading me to the front door when Jacob suddenly started talking to me again.

"Oh, Erin-"

"Not now!"

Maybe that was a little too rude? But before I could apologise to him, Jackie had already pulled me outside.

"You have got to stop doing this. I know you're trying to prevent me from telling Embry about Friday night by interfering the entire time but you're ruining his birthday."

"It's not like I have a choice. The minute you'll talk to him, you'll tell him. You can't keep anything from him, even for me."

She looked at me with a sad look on her face and motioned me to sit down next to her.

"I'm sorry you feel like you can't trust me and to make it even worse, I can't really blame you for it. It's not like I haven't told him your secrets before but I promise you I won't tell him this."

I was a little suspicious about it but in the end my faith in my friend was bigger. I told her I would be going home now. There was no reason for me to ruin Embry's birthday even more than I already have. I told her I was going to walk home since I don't live that far away and then she didn't have to give me a ride back.

"Apologise to Embry for me, won't you?"

She told me she would and then went back inside. Walking back to my house gave me some free time to think. I had acted like a lunatic today. All because I didn't get the kiss I had been craving for. This whole thing with Jacob was making me lose my common sense.


	24. My war hero

_I know the almost kiss was an mean thing to do but you guys are even meaner. I hardly had any reviews after my awesome chapter. A big thank you for the once who did review though. _

_Because I'm a nice person and actually have a lot of inspiration for this story, I still updated. Please review? It makes my day!_

**Chapter 24**

Monday arrived yet again and I wasn't really looking up to anything. This was going to be the best Monday in weeks! Jackie still had to give me a ride to school but she didn't seem to mind much. She did say however how stupid she thought I was for making that ridiculous deal with my brother. I thought that after all these years she'd know him well enough to realise I didn't really have a choice in the matter.

When we arrived in the school parking lot, Embry wasn't there. Jacob wasn't there either, in fact the entire La Push gang was nowhere in sight. The look of profound disappointment on Jackie's face when she wasn't greeted by her boyfriend's smile made me want to yell at Embry. She said he must have been busy and that it didn't matter but it was an impossible task to get her to smile all day. I decided to hang out at her place to make her a little happier but I might as well have been spending my time with a corpse. She seemed really worried and had tried his cell phone uncountable times but it was as if Embry had disappeared from the face of the earth.

When the doorbell finally rang and Jackie didn't make any attempts to get up, I decided to open the door for her. I was met with a solid chest and a voice that asked where Jackie was. Before I could answer Embry, she was already flying through the room to launch herself in his arms. I didn't understand why she acted as if he just came back from war but I really don't get any part of their relationship.

I was going to leave these two alone but when I tried to leave, Jacob stopped me. Where did he just come from? I hadn't even noticed him standing in the doorway.

"I have to talk to you."

It wasn't a question so it's not like I could say no. He had his car with him and told Jackie he would be taking me home. Instead of taking me home, he drove us to his house. We didn't talk at all during the short ride. Jacob looked in deep concentration and I didn't want to disturb him. It seemed that he has got a lot on his mind.

When we got out of the car, I followed him inside his house. It was the first time that I was here. The house obviously lacked feminine touch and a maid. There were dirty plates and pans piling up next to the stove. Jacob lead me to the living room and made me sit down on their couch. It was nicer in here and the pictures on the wall took up all my attention. Before I could give them a proper look, Jacob spoke to me.

"What did I do wrong? I thought you had a great time as well on our date."

"I did."

Why was he saying this? I wasn't angry.

"Then why were you ignoring me yesterday?"

Huh?

"I wasn't."

"Yes, you were. Whenever I tried to talk to you, you ran over to Jackie as if you couldn't stand to be alone with me."

Oh, no. While trying to prevent Jackie from talking to Embry, I had given Jacob a completely wrong impression. Now he thought I had been avoiding him. I had been a little short with him but that was for a different reason.

"Actually I was trying to stop Jackie from doing something."

That's a good vague answer. This way I didn't have to tell him it was because he hadn't kissed me.

"Trying to stop her from doing what?"

"Please don't make me say it. It's embarrassing."

He looked as if he still wanted to know but decided to drop the subject. Instead he smiled at me again and asked me if I would finally allow him to give me my present. I felt already too bad to tell him 'no' so I just nodded.

He disappeared for a while which gave me the time to look at the pictures. He did the same thing when he was at my place, remember?

There were a lot of pictures from his sisters who don't live in la Push anymore but that's all I know about them. Billy Black was in a lot of pictures as well. I knew what he looks like because he's in the Tribe Council so everyone knows who he is. Thanks to Jackie I also know that his mother died a while back so I wasn't too surprised when I could only find one picture of her. She was a beautiful woman and I could immediately see where Jacob had gotten his smile from.

When Jacob entered the room again, he was holding something behind his back. I was relieved it was at least not the size of a car.

"Before I give this to you, I want to remind you of your promise to accept whatever it is I am going to give to you."

"Yeah, whatever! Just give it to me."

He snickered and tossed me the little brown bag he had been holding. So it wasn't breakable either. Or maybe he had a lot of faith in my catching skills? Probably not.

He looked excited as well when I opened the bag. I pulled out a beautiful necklace. The chain was real silver as was the pendant. It was shaped in the size of the moon. It was a very simple necklace but it looked expensive anyway.

"Jacob, I-"

"You don't like it."

"No no, that's not it at all. But it looks so expensive."

"That's because it is."

"Jacob!"

"You can't refuse it because you promised." He grinned.

He was one sneaky bastard. Before I could protest again, he had pulled me to my feet, gotten behind me and put on the necklace.

It took a lot of time to get it on and I started to suspect he was doing it slowly on purpose. Not that I was complaining. I rather enjoyed his breath on my skin and his warm touch on my neck. I even had to suppress a moan when I felt him pull away.

"It looks good on you."

"Thank you, Jacob. You didn't have to do this but thank you."

He seemed pleased that I wasn't going to object anymore. I was busy looking down to my new asset which is why I didn't realise how close Jacob had come to stand to me until I looked up.

He was so close. I remembered the last time we stood like this. Was he going to kiss me this time or was he not even aware of how close we were? His ragged breathing implied something else.

"Erin?"

My name was only a whisper on his lips but there is no way it was my imagination. He closed his eyes and started to lean towards me. He was only a few inches away from my lips when he stopped suddenly. No, keep going! Kiss me! But it seemed Jacob couldn't hear my thoughts because just like last time, he sighed and started to pull back again.

This wasn't fair. I wanted him to kiss me and unless he's sending me totally wrong signals, he wants to kiss me as well. Then why were we still not lip to lip? Maybe he was afraid I'd turn him down. It not like I could blame him for that. After all I had rejected him when he asked me out.

He had already put a bigger distance between us but was still pulling away. If it was up to Jacob's insecurity, there is no way I'm ever going to get my kiss. Before he could take another step back from me, I placed my hand on the back of his neck and pulled him to me. I quickly pressed my lips to his before he could change his mind. Yes, I was finally kissing Jacob Black and so far he still hadn't pulled away.

He suddenly started to kiss me back and it was better than I could have possibly imagined. Kissing Jacob was like pleasantly dying and being reborn at the same time. It was the best feeling I had ever experienced and I knew I had to do this again and again. I had found my new drug. Chocolate move aside because here comes Jacob Black.

I didn't want him to stop but we did need oxygen so I let him pull away. This was awkward. I couldn't bear to look into his eyes so I just stared at my shoes.

"Look at me, Erin."

His voice sounded lower as usual and a little groggy, as if he just woke up. Was that because of the kiss?

I looked up like he had told me to and saw a smile on Jacob's face. That was already a good sign. He had those lights in his eyes I adore. He didn't open his mouth and I didn't really know what to say.

"Could you take me home?"

Oh, that's great. Now he's going to think I don't want to be around him. I was right. The moment I said it, he pulled his hand off me and the smile disappeared.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. It's just that my dad is probably wondering where I am. It's not like I don't want to stay and do that again."

Stop talking! You're totally embarrassing yourself! Jacob just grinned but at least he looked happy again.

"I'd like to do that again too."

And now I was blushing! But he did say he wanted to do it again so that definitely brought a smile to my face.

"But you're right. I should take you home."

I tried to hide my disappointment from him but I did an awful job because before I could walk toward the front door, he had pressed his lips against mine again.

I hadn't regretted kissing Jacob so far, not even when my dad and Bryan became very suspicious after he had dropped me of at home. They had both started to warn me about hanging out with a 'dangerous guy'. As if anyone who knew Jacob would describe him that way. But even their pissed off mood couldn't burst the bubble of happiness I was in since I had felt Jacob's lips on mine.

However, I was nervous about going to school today. I had no idea how Jacob was going to act now and I also didn't know where this left me and him. Were we dating now? I didn't want to assume anything but having a conversation about it would definitely be awkward.

I also didn't know if I should tell Jackie about the kiss. I was excited about it but I thought it better to wait for a while to see what Jacob would do first. God, I can be such a scared chicken sometimes.

I had decided to pretend like nothing had happened yesterday but failed the minute I got out of Jackie's car. Jacob had been standing right in front of me and greeted me with a brilliant smile. What did I do? I couldn't even greet him properly. I stumbled out a 'hi' and resembled a tomato when his friends laughed at me. Jacob snapped at them and told me not to pay attention to them.

"Will you have lunch with me today?"

"Euhm...sure."

We had lunch together on most days but this was the first time he had specifically asked me. It made me feel really happy. Jesus, I was getting excited about eating lunch. As if we didn't do that every day.

It turned out that when Jacob said he wanted to have lunch with me, he really meant just the two of us. When I wanted to go sit next to Embry and Jackie, he pulled me to an empty table and glared at Andy when he tried to join us.

"How was your day so far?"

"Good, yours?"

"Great."

I know what you're thinking right now but we have better conversations normally. It's the whole we-kissed-yesterday-situation that was making it a bit awkward.

"You're wearing the necklace." He smiled.

I wasn't going to tell him I had refused to take it off since he had given it to me yesterday. I just nodded instead.

"Erin?"

"Yeah?"

"That kiss could mean anything."

God, I had sort of hoped we could just skip this talk.

"I'll be whatever you want me to be."

What is that supposed to mean? I know. Translated it means: 'I don't know what to do with what happened yesterday so I'm going to leave the ball in your court.' Coward!

"I could still be your friend or acquaintance or best buddy or something more..."

"Those are all the things you could be. What about the thing you want to be?"

He blushed. It was less obvious on him because of his dark skin but I saw it anyway. I made him blush. He took a deep breath before he blurted it out.

"I'd really like for us to be together, like a couple."

And then he stared at me with that longing look on his face. He was searching for something in my eyes just like that time we went out to look for Ash. But this time I knew what he was waiting for and I wasn't going to let him down again.

"I'd really like that as well."

I gave him a small smile which was immediately answered with a wide one from Jacob. We didn't say much after that but he held my hand under the table the entire time.

_So...you like?_


	25. Kinky stuff

_Thanks to all for the lovely reviews I've been receiving! I'm so glad you guys are liked the chapter. I would really appreciate it if you would do the same for this one._

**Chapter 25**

Jackie had obviously noticed the change in atmosphere between Jacob and me. That's why she grabbed the first opportunity to corner me.

"What happened between you and Jacob? Don't even try to deny it. You guys have been inside your own little bubble all day now."

She's one to talk! I'm surprised she even noticed my absence during lunch. Well, there was no point in hiding it from her now.

"Yesterday, we kissed."

Her joyful squeal made me deaf on one side. She was smiling at me as if Embry had just asked her to marry him and even though that wasn't the case right at this moment, I'm convinced that can happen any day now.

"Finally! I thought he would never pick up the courage to kiss you."

I decided to not tell her it had been me who kissed him first. That way his ego wouldn't get bruised. Even if it really was me...

Jackie was in a happy bliss similar to mine which made me wonder why it meant so much to her. I was too wrapped up in Jacob to give it much thought. The rest of the day passed really quickly and before I knew it, it was time to go home. Jackie was going to give me a ride home but was momentarily glued to Embry's side. It wouldn't have been so bad if Jacob was there as well but he was nowhere to be found. So I was left to stare at the happy couple making out.

"Where is your precious boyfriend now?"

Unfortunately I'd know that awful voice anywhere. Of course Tara wouldn't like to see her precious Jacob taken away by someone else, let alone someone she can't stand. She had come to stand next to me and had once again put on her bitchy face.

"What? You're not going to talk to me now?"

"You're not really worth spending any words on."

Haha, in your face Tara! I was pretty impressed with my cool comeback but she wasn't. Then again I don't think she has a surprised facial expression. I quickly glanced at her. Yep, still the bitchy one.

"You think you're something special now just because Jacob took an interest in you? Please, do you really think he likes you? Do you think he loves you? He says that to all the girls and you're no different. He's just going after you because I told him you were still a virgin."

My breath caught in my throat. Tara's words actually hurt. She always knows just what to say to make me feel like crap but this time she was wrong. I wasn't going to listen to her bad mouthing me and Jacob. He's with me because he likes me for who I am, god knows why but he does. I wasn't going to let Tara or my insecurities ruin this great thing we have going on. I had realised a while back that a lot of girls would try and sabotage me but I wasn't going down without a fight.

"You are such a bitch. Just because Jacob can't stand the sight of you and that destroys the ideal of your future marriage, you have to come between us? Green really isn't your colour, Tara. Could you please do me a favour and burn in hell?"

She didn't get the chance to respond because Embry interfered. He gave Tara the coldest glare I've ever seen on his face and Tara wasn't even trying to hit on Jackie. That's usually the one thing that makes him give people such an awful look. She seemed to be genuinely afraid of him and I can't say I blame her.

"Hey, Erin. Get in the car. We're leaving."

Jackie was acting as if her boyfriend wasn't trying to glare Tara to dead. Instead she pretended as if everything was normal. That doesn't mean I have to.

"What was up with Embry?"

She sighed. Good, that means she isn't going to act as if she doesn't know what I'm talking about.

"When me and Embry started going out, a lot of girls were really aggressive to me because of our relationship. It kind of scared me off and I guess Embry doesn't want that to happen to you and Jacob. He's really glad you guys are going out now."

Once again it seemed as if my relationship with Jacob consisted of four persons instead of two. No matter what we do, Jackie and Embry would always interfere. I know it's with the best intentions but it's kind of getting on my nerves.

I had screamed my lungs out when I came out of the shower and there was a man sitting on my bed. After giving him a proper look, I had realised it was Jacob but he had still scared the shit out of me.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

To make the situation even worse, I was only wearing a towel which I was desperately clutching on to. He seemed to realise I was a bit underdressed because it took some time before his gaze shifted back to my face.

"I wanted to see you."

Okay, that was kind of sweet but at the same time I couldn't help but wonder how he had made it into my bedroom. The front door was locked, as was the back door. My window was open but there's no way he came in through that!

"How did you get in here?"

"Embry told me you got into a fight with Tara."

Changing the subject, as usual. His words made me realise Embry and Jackie really are made for each other! They both can't keep their mouth shut.

"Don't call it a fight. That makes it sound as if we beat the crap out of each other. It was more like a disagreement."

He lifted one eyebrow as if to say he didn't really believe me.

"Well, if you guys ever have a 'disagreement' again, just tell me and I'll take care of it."

"Don't do that!" I snapped at him.

"Do what?"

"Treat me like a little child who can't protect herself."

"When have I ever treated you that way?"

I rolled my eyes. It would be a better question to ask when he hadn't acted like that.

"Is it so wrong that I want to protect you?"

I sighed. What was I supposed to say to that? I kind of liked it that he wanted to take care of me but he was taking the whole thing to a ridiculous level. Not even Embry acts this way around Jackie and he's already bad. Why was I comparing our relationship with theirs anyway?

"What do you think you have to protect me from? There isn't a rapist behind me, is there?"

"Stop messing around!"

Jacob started trembling again which means he's getting angry, again. I have no idea what I said or did to piss him off that way but I had to think of something to calm him down.

"Jacob, I'm not in any danger and even though it's very endearing that you feel the need to protect me, it gets extremely annoying on a daily basis."

I don't know what the actual magic word was in that sentence but it definitely did the trick. His body stopped shaking and he calmed down. He looked me in the eyes and I saw a pained look lingering there. The cause if it was unknown to me but I felt the need to make it go away. Jacob's pain suddenly seemed like my suffering as well and I didn't like the feeling one bit.

"Jacob? Are you alright?"

"Yes, I just... I have a strange request for you."

Is this the part where he tells me he is into kinky stuff? No, that seemed highly unlikely to me. But then why was he talking about a strange request?

"Can I hold you?"

Okay, I did not see that one coming. He seemed to be very serious about his question though and it's not like I would actually mind him holding me. I just didn't know how to take the lead in such a thing and he was simply sitting on my bed, making no move to approach me. I was the one who kissed him the first time and now I have to do this as well! Why can't the guy grow a pair? It would make things so much easier.

I slowly made my way over to the bed and sat down next to him. Before I had to give it anymore thought, he had pulled me into his lap. Yes, into his lap! Such a thing made :me feel very uncomfortable and it only got worse when he sniffed my hair. Total creeper behaviour if you ask me. Even though his arms were tight around me and he seemed to be lost in the fragrance of my shampoo, I slowly became at ease. There was something strangely suiting about being so close to Jacob.

We sat there for hours on end, holding each other without either of us making an attempt to go away. I didn't even realise I was still only wearing a towel. Maybe we would've stayed like this for the entire night, had we not heard the front door open. A quick glance at the clock told me it was my father coming home. It would end quite unfortunate if he were to find me here in Jacob's lap, a boy of who he has made clear not to be fond of. Without really wanting to I started to get away from his embrace. I didn't actually want to do such a thing but my father would come upstairs any moment now.

He let go of me and my heart skipped several beats when I realised he did so reluctantly. Eventually I heard my father coming up to stairs so I turned back to Jacob. When I looked back at my bed, he was gone. Wait, he really did go through my window?

_Please, please, please review! I'm sort of having a writers Block and some encouraging would help._


	26. Beware of the dark

_I'm so glad you guys were all excited about the chapter! I loved the reviews and all the ideas I've gotten for future chapters. Don't be too disappointed if you don't see yours any time soon. Some of the ideas just worked out better later on in the story. However, I have written in Jacob's POV in this chapter because a lot of people asked me to. I did find it extremely difficult to do so don't expect it again anytime soon. Hope you like it!_

**Chapter 26**

I hadn't seen Jacob in school the next day or the rest of the week. I already knew he skipped school way too often but I didn't think it was this bad. I had also hoped he would have felt the urge to see me as I had the need to see him.

On my way home, something strange occurred. I had walked home since Jackie was locking lips with Embry and Bryan still didn't let me use the car. I had only been walking for five minutes when something moved in the corner of my eye, gaining my attention. It had been a blur but I had definitely seen something. My common sense told me not to go after it and I was about to listen to it when I saw it again. It was a black blur and looked like some kind of animal. It had passed too fast for me to know what kind of animal it was but it had been bigger than anything I had ever seen. Was it a bear? That seems unlikely. Bears don't come so close to the village. I must have looked like I was just about to go into the woods because a voice called me back.

"It's not safe to go into the woods!"

For a split second I had thought it was Jacob but I was wrong. He looked very similar to him but this man was taller and older. He also didn't have that sweet smile and the light in his eyes that make Jacob special. The man looked strangely familiar to me but everyone in the La Push gang looks the same in my opinion with the exception of Jacob of course.

"It's not safe to go into the woods, Erin."

Okay, now it's getting sort of creepy. How did the guy know my name? Had we met before? Slowly a memory from Embry's birthday party came to mind. What was his name again? I couldn't remember but I did know Jacob had called him the big boss or something. He protected the tribe. From what? I think La Push has the lowest crime rate in the area.

"Have you been talking to Jacob?"

I don't know why but for some reason his warning had reminded me of Jacob's ridiculous over protectiveness and not just because his words had made me angry as well. He didn't answer my question. He just smiled at me as if I was a kid who didn't understand the simplest equation.

"Just stay out of the woods."

I was about to tell him to mind his own business but he was already walking away from me... into the woods. Oh, so I can't go within a mile of a tree but it's okay for him to walk around alone and half naked through the forest? I hope he gets raped then! No, wait, that's kind of an awful thing to say. I take it back. It's not like the guy seems fragile or anything. He can take care of himself just fine. I just wish they all would realise so can I.

The day was only going to get stranger. When I came home I was greeted by Jackie sitting on my porch.

"Hey there. I hoped you're dad would be home but it looks like I just missed him. I decided to wait for you then."

I let Jackie in the house and we chatted about pretty much nothing while eating cookies. She was telling me some story about her past weekend with Embry when she suddenly turned the conversation around completely.

"Have you been sleeping alright?"

"Yeah... Why do you ask?"

"No reason. It's just that I haven't."

"So? Unless it's a case of an epidemic, that usually means it's only you."

"I know that. Never mind. Just forget I asked."

But for the rest of the night she kept looking out of the window as if she was expecting Chuckie to stand there any moment now. She also refused to leave until my dad was home and Embry came to pick her up. Before getting into his car she pulled me into a tight embrace.

"If there is anything, anything at all, even a small sound in the house, just call me. Or better yet, call Jacob."

And then she left. I'm starting to think there really is a murderer trying to kill me thanks to the strange warnings I've been receiving. If they had been trying to make feel safe, they had all failed miserably. So when Bryan and my dad wanted to watch a horror movie, I nicely refused and went up to my room instead.

It really shouldn't have been such a surprise to me to find Jacob in there. But it was and I would've screamed my lungs out if Jacob hadn't put his hand on my mouth.

"Please don't freak out."

If he didn't want me to freak out, he shouldn't sneak into my room at night.

"How did you get in here?"

Once again I didn't see how he would have done so but he was clearly standing in my room.

"Through the window."

"What? It's on the first floor and I'm pretty sure you didn't take a ladder with you, did you?"

Just to make sure there really wasn't one standing under my window, I leaned out to observe I had been right. Maybe I shouldn't have done that because Jacob looked at me as though I was a wacko.

"I jumped."

Okay, there is no way I'm believing that bullshit story. Nobody can jump up that high, not even Jacob.

"It was open. That's not good, Erin. You should always, always close your window."

Oh God, I feel a beware-of-the-dark-speech coming up again. I've had enough of those today to last me a life time.

"Why is that? Why can't I leave my window open or go into the woods-"

"You went into the woods!"

I was surprised that his shout hadn't made my dad race up the stair but I guess the movie had been louder. Jacob looked ballistic and had this crazy look in his eyes. Had that always been there?

"No, I didn't. This guy stopped me."

"What guy?"

I didn't think he could look any more freaked out but somehow he managed.

"I don't remember his name but you, me and Jackie talked to him at Embry's birthday party. You said he was sort of your boss."

"Oh, you mean Sam." He sighed reassured.

"Yeah, that could have been his name... Anyway, he told me it wasn't safe for me to go into the woods this afternoon."

"And you listened?"

He seemed a bit surprised at the fact I had taken the warning seriously. Honestly I would have completely ignored it if it had been Jacob telling me this but that's just because I really hate it when he thinks he can tell me what I can and can't do. Sam however had such a commanding aura around him that I was afraid disobeying him would have resulted into me being struck by lightning. As if his orders and will should not be defied.

"Don't be too surprised."

He chuckled. I was glad to see the atmosphere had gotten a bit more relaxed. Me and Jacob always seem to be having big meaningful conversations. Most of the time I don't even understand the meaning of it. It can get quite tiresome.

"Hey, Erin. Do you have any plans tomorrow night?"

I told him I didn't. Was he going to ask me on another date? We had both mentioned going on a second one before we gotten together and I would actually enjoy going out with Jacob but being able to act like a real couple this time.

"We've got a bonfire tomorrow and I would really like it if you came."

Was that his idea of a date? Because if it is, it needs some work. I don't know why but this reminded me of the Embry-filled weekend Jackie went on a while ago. She had also gone to a bonfire with him and on Monday she had acted as if her whole world had been shaken up. Was that going to happen to me?

"Who will be there?"

"You know, the usual: Jackie, Embry, Quil, Paul, Jared, Kim-"

"So it will be like the entire La Push Gang and their girlfriends. It doesn't really sound like the recipe for a great night to me."

"The La Push gang?" He asked me with raised eyebrows.

Woops, I guess I never called them that in front of Jacob before. He didn't seem to mind much if his amused expression was anything to go by.

"Besides you're one of the La Push Gang girlfriends as well now." He smiled.

Damn it, he was making me blush and that just made his smile grow.

"Will you please come with me? It's sort of a tradition that I'd like to share with you."

How was I supposed to say no when he asked me like that? I nodded even though he must have realised I didn't really want to go. He told me he'd pick me up tomorrow evening at 8 o'clock.

Jacob POV

Tonight was the night Erin would be hearing the tribe legends from my dad and after that I'd have to tell her about me being a shape shifter. If that wasn't already bad enough I would also have to explain imprinting to her. I think I know Erin well enough to know she won't take it well. But she had surprised me on more than one occasion before. Like when I had asked her out the first time, I had been so nervous but also convinced she wouldn't turn me down because no imprint has ever done that. Even Emily had made her objections but my imprint flat out told me no. So maybe she'd surprise me again and be totally blissful about us being soul mates. A boy can dream, right?

"Jacob, stop fidgeting!"

I couldn't not be nervous about this. Tonight would define the rest of my life so excuse me for not taking it lightly. I was driving the pack insane by now but I didn't really pay any attention to it.

"If you don't stop looking like you're about to pee your pants, I'm going to rip your arms off and believe me, I can do it!"

I can always count on Leah to make me relax.*coughcough* At least Emily was a bit more helpful.

"It will all work out just fine. She is your imprint after all."

I had believed those words the first time she spoke them to me but not anymore. I had already found out that being imprinted on her wasn't a guarantee for success. Normally I would turn to Jackie for advise on my stubborn imprint but she had made it clear she wasn't pleased with me already telling Erin about the pack.

To be honest, I completely agreed with her. It had taken me so much energy and time to make her even like me- not that it wasn't worth it, on the contrary- that I just didn't want to scare her off more than I already felt I had. If the decision was mine to make, I would at least wait a month. I mean, right now we're not even dating for one week yet.

After sulking the entire day, the fact that I could call her my girlfriend now brought a smile to my face. Yep, Erin Thompson was now officially mine and there is no way I will ever let another guy have her. I don't think I would survive that. She is everything to me. All the rest of the world doesn't matter to me as long as I could see her smile. It is a bit scary at the same time knowing she only has to ask and I would kill an entire town for her. Not that she'd ever ask me such a thing but it's still a bit frightening sometimes.

I would give her everything she'd need and right now she needed time. Unfortunately we were running out of it. A few days ago two vampires showed up in la Push and haven't left since then. They know we're here and have always been capable of getting away but they keep getting closer to the town, closer to my Erin. The idea that the reason I was put onto this earth is in danger makes me so angry I want to smash something. Fear would grip my heart and wouldn't let go until I am absolutely positive she is safe in my arms and even then that feeling of uneasiness won't go away.

That's why I have to tell her about the shape shifting. Once she knows she wouldn't do stupid things like going into the woods and I'd actually have some piece of mind knowing that. I'm still not convinced this is the right thing to do. She'll definitely hate me for this. Sam had said it's entirely up to me but he also made it clear it's the best thing to do in his opinion. I'm supposed to pick her up in fifteen minutes and I'm still not convinced that this is the right thing to do. Would she ban me out of her life after this?

Erin POV

At exactly 8 o'clock I was ready for Jacob to come pick me up. Fortunately for me I was home all by myself. If Bryan was here, I would probably lose the car for another few weeks. I still hadn't told my dad I was dating Jacob now and I had absolutely no intention of doing so.

I checked my watch after a while and saw he was already 15 minutes late. That's not really something Jacob usually does. I stayed waiting for him the entire night but he never came. Something was wrong.

_Reviews are always nice! So please let me know what you thought about the chapter. _


	27. Growing tired of you

_Thank you for all the lovely reviews this past week. It would be nice to hear what you all think about this chapter as well, especially because I'm not too happy about this one. Let me know if you like it! (also if you didn't)_

**Chapter 27**

The next morning Jacob stood in front of my door. I had noticed him staring at it but making no move to ring the doorbell. He probably was too afraid I would bite his nose of but strangely enough I didn't feel that need. When he didn't show up last night I hadn't been angry at all with him. Instead I had felt very worried about his well being. I know a big guy like Jacob can take care of himself but somehow it felt like that was my responsibility.

But no matter the reason he didn't show up last night, he had still stood me up and that shouldn't go unpunished. He didn't have to know I wasn't really angry. His guilt would probably make it difficult for him to see though my acting skills anyway.

For a moment it seemed he was going to leave without ringing and I couldn't let that happen. I quickly pulled open the door and acted as if I was surprised to find him standing at the other side of the door. If I may say so, my acting skills actually aren't that bad.

"Jacob, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Euhm...Hi."

Hi? Seriously? If I was really mad at him, that phrase would have been the cue to eat him alive.

"Are you mad at me?"

He looked so much like a beaten dog that it was hard to fight the urge to throw my arms around him and comfort him.

"What do you think? You stood me up!"

"I know! Please believe that I'm so terribly sorry about it but you have to understand. I just couldn't!"

"Couldn't what? Drive a car? Ring the doorbell? Last night wasn't really a challenge!"

His stupid explanation was actually pissing me off now and I wasn't faking the anger anymore.

"No! Look there was something important I had to tell you last night but I just couldn't do it. It would have ruined everything."

Once again he wasn't making any sense to me but the expression on his face was clear. He seemed absolutely devastated between telling me or not whatever was bothering him.

"Then don't tell me."

"What?" he gasped.

"If whatever thing you have to tell me is going to ruin everything, I don't want to know. In fact I forbid you to tell me about it."

"You forbid me?"

"For the time being. I'm guessing there will come a day when I'll try to beat it out of you but not right now."

"You're amazing!"

His comment made me smile. Never thought I'd hear those words from his lips.

"However you did leave me waiting last night and it will have consequences."

"Tell me what it is you want me to do and I'll do it. Anything to make it up to you."

The tone in his voice was just so sincere, I didn't doubt him one second.

"Good because we are going shopping!"

Jacob drove us all the way to Port Angeles, carried my bags around all day and paid for everything I wanted. The most amazing part is, he did it all without whining. He really is some catch. I had a great time and I think he did too. He didn't stop smiling all day and it made me so happy when I realised it was only when he looked at me.

"So now what?"

"What do you mean? Do you want to go home already?"

The panic in his voice was adorable. Just like him I wasn't looking forward to going home any time soon because let's face it, any place without Jacob there, sucks. It's like a rule and so far I haven't found the exception yet.

"Not really but I am getting tired from shopping."

"We'll sit down then."

Jacob immediately started pulling me to a bench and sat down next to me, too far away if you ask me. We talked about casual things like school and our friends. We didn't even realise the time until everything got dark.

"I guess we didn't pay attention to the time."

"I guess not."

"So does this count as our second date?" Jacob asked me.

"I believe so, why?"

"Because it would be very rude of me to not kiss you on our second date."

I didn't even get the chance to lean in. His lips were already on mine. Jacob's kiss made me feel all warm inside, just like his words do. I wish I could spend my whole life like this. Just sitting on a bench in Jacob's embrace. Now I'm actually freaking myself out. Before I could imagine wedding bells ringing in my head, I pulled away.

"Maybe you should take me home."

"Yeah, I should."

I could see the obvious disappointment on his face but I couldn't think of anything to say that would make it go away. Instead I held his hand firmly in mine while walking back to his car. He squeezed my hand tightly and I knew my sudden cold shoulder towards him was already forgiven.

Days passed and I spend them all with Jacob. We had soon become inseparable. The behaviour I had resented Embry and Jackie for, we had copied. What worried me even more was the fact that I didn't feel any guilt towards my friends for bailing on them so often. I know I should feel guilty because I know what kind of hell Jackie put me and Andy through but compared to Jacob, it all didn't matter that much.

I could feel myself falling deeper and deeper in love with him but I couldn't stop it. I didn't want to stop it. For the first time in my life I was insanely happy. It's like I didn't know I was dead until Jacob brought me back to life. If this is how Jackie felt all this time, I take back every awful thing I said and thought about her and Embry. Of course Andy wasn't happy about me and Jacob dating now and grasped every opportunity to tell me about his great dislike.

"Will you look at that! Jeremy Gilbert is looking at you and I heard he's single again."

What was even worse, was his constant matchmaking. It's like he thinks pointing out better guys would make me break up with Jacob. As if there even exists such a thing as a better guy than Jacob Black. Yeah, that's how far I've already fallen. I'm in the stage where he can do no wrong and I'm starting to think he was put unto this earth just for me. As if!

"That's great for Jeremy but in case you forgot: I'm dating Jacob."

"Like I could forget such a thing! It's already bad enough you're dating one of the La Push Gang as well, but now you also don't have any time for me, just like Jackie."

He was playing the guilt card and we both know he's damn good at it. He was just looking like a beaten kid. How was I supposed to resist that?

"I'm sorry. I know I've been neglecting you a bit but I promise you we'll hang out tonight. How does that sound?"

"Can I answer that question after you actually show up?"

In my defence, I haven't actually stood him up yet but Jackie has. I didn't want this to get to the point where Andy would resent Jacob as well, like he does with Embry. I wanted Andy to like my boyfriend.

"I'll be there. I promise."

He clearly didn't believe me but let it rest. I am proud to announce that that evening I really showed up on his doorstep. We drove up to Forks, which holds the only bar in the neighbourhood and luckily for us they never check your ID.

"So what is new in the life of Andy?"

"You're acting as if we never talk anymore. Oh wait, we don't. Even if we go to the same school and have the same classes. Why is that?"

If he had asked me to meet up with him just so he could bitch about my absence these last few days, I wasn't going to stay.

"Please don't be like that. I'm making time for you now, aren't I?"

"I guess." He grumbled.

Oh boy, maybe I should have stood him up tonight. Then at least I could have spend the evening with Jacob and that is far better than Andy's whining.

"I'm going to break up with Dana."

What? That was completely out of the blue!

"Why?"

Don't get me wrong: just because I'm not jumping up and down on the table out of joy right now, doesn't mean this information wasn't benefiting my mood.

"She's just so clingy all the time. She already freaks out when I so much as talk to another girl. I mean, I'm doing a project with her, of course we're going to have a conversation."

"True, I mean. She is kind of the jealous type."

"Jealous isn't even the right word anymore. People should invent a new word to describe the way she's been acting lately. And then there's also the fact that it's just not working anymore and not just because of the jealousy thing."

"What do you mean?"

"When we first started going out, everything was so much fun: getting to know each other, go on our first dates and now being in a relationship with her is more an chore than something I actually want to do."

Ouch, I hope Jacob will never speak about me like that. The other way around seems highly unlikely to me. I can't imagine there will actually be a day where I grow tired of him. That's just not going to happen.

Me and Andy talked about other stuff as well but now that I knew he was planning on breaking up with Dana soon, everything else seemed to be so much less interesting. I was a little excited about her being out of our lives because we all know I don't really like her but it's always sad when someone gets dumped. I'm also pretty convinced she has no idea what's coming her way. At the end of the night I was glad we had done this. It had been too long since we had talked like that.

He dropped me off at my house and I waved at him when he rode off. I hadn't broken my promise to Jacob about not going into the woods even though it wasn't really a promise. But when I stood in front of my door, a chill ran down my spine. I had the feeling as though something was watching me. The woods start behind my garden so it might as well have been a rabbit or a fox. Nothing too dangerous but the chill that had run down my spine told me otherwise. I quickly closed the door behind me but that didn't stop me from hearing a wolf howl. The sound went through my entire being. There is no way I'll be able to sleep tonight.

_Soooooo?_


	28. Supernatural invasion

_Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews! I hope you like this chapter as well. I'm pretty proud of it _

**Chapter 28**

Jacob had been jumpy all week. The only time he seemed remotely calm to me was when I held his hand. Not that I mind doing such a thing but it was making me worry. What was on his mind? What was going on that made him so aggravated? His friends told me his behaviour was even worse when I wasn't around and that definitely didn't relax me.

His behaviour wasn't the only one that was upsetting me. Embry kept asking me strange questions and for some reason he found it extremely important I knew all the Quileute legends. I grew up with those legends so of course I knew them by heart but Embry demanded that I tell him one every day and corrected me whenever I got one little detail wrong. I'm starting to think there is something wrong with the water here. When I asked Jackie about it, she just told me they wanted everyone to be prepared. Clearly she was no help at all.

"Will you please relax a little, Jacob? You're making me nervous and I don't even know why."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Erin. I didn't mean to make you feel that way."

That's another strange thing I've noticed about Jacob since we started going out. He's extremely unsure about everything. Sometimes he acts as if I'd dump him when he does something that doesn't please me. I'd say he's very afraid of rejection. For some reason that Bella girl keeps popping in my head as the cause.

"That's okay but won't you just tell me what's bothering you?"

"I thought you forbid me from telling you."

I sighed. I really didn't want to know the reason for him being such a strange boy but at the same time I think it would be a relief to have it all out in the open. I just think it's better if Jacob doesn't have to worry anymore about telling me the nerve-racking thing.

"Never mind then."

Finally the day was over and Jacob had promised me he'd walk me home. We had only left school 2 minutes ago when he stopped.

"I have to tell you something."

"I thought we just decided you wouldn't tell me?"

"No, I mean yes but it doesn't have to do with that. Well, not really."

"Okay..."

Jacob seemed more nervous than usually. Lately he's on his nerves but now he was acting as if he was going to say something life altering. Was he?

"I know we haven't been dating for a long time but somehow it feels as if I've known you my whole life."

His words made me smile. It was good to know I wasn't the only one who felt about us like that.

"I just thought you should know that I have completely fallen in love with you."

And then he looked at me with those big, adorable brown eyes. I could tell it took him a lot of courage to say those words and he was once again afraid I wouldn't like it and break up with him.

"Ditto."

The big grin I got in return was totally worth saying that. It just wasn't good enough to actually make me say 'I'm in love with you' because that would mean me giving my heart to Jacob and that's freaking scary. I was about to start walking again when Jacob went completely rigid.

"Jacob? What's wrong?"

He didn't answer me, instead he growled. Yeah, he does that a lot apparently. Not really one of his best qualities if you ask me. He seemed to be staring into the woods and was shaking from head to toe. I still don't exactly know what that means but I know it's not good. And the look on his face was enough to make me afraid of him. However he wasn't pointing his hateful glare towards me but to a figure stepping outside of the forest.

The man who stepped into my line of vision was gorgeous. I know I've said Jacob was the most beautiful man I had ever seen in my life but this man could win Mr Universe easily on a bad hair day. He had pale skin, copper brown hair and yellow, almost golden eyes. I would have thrown myself at his feet, weren't it for the fact that I was obviously smitten with Jacob and the fact that there was such a scary aura around this man that made me feel the need to hide behind Jacob.

"What are you doing here? You trespassed the treaty line!"

It took me a few moments to realise Jacob's growling was an actual sentence. Did he know this man? Obviously he did but he never spoke of a man he hated. And the look on his face made it very clear how he felt about this beautiful man.

"Bella has been asking about you and you still haven't come. I thought I might stop by to ask you why."

Bella? What did she had to do in this equation? I guess that means this guy must be Edward and suddenly Jacob's insecurities make a lot more sense to me. Of course he'd be scared of rejection after his so called friend ditched him for that! I must admit Bella is one lucky girl to have these two guys fight over her. Then again that must mean she's beautiful as well, like drop-dead-gorgeous and I have some really big shoes to fill.

"I'm not going to sit there and watch her die!" Jacob screamed.

I had to fight the urge to step away from him. He was scaring me right now but I'm afraid the pale one would snap my neck the moment I'm away from Jacob's protection. For the first time in this conversation did the guy look at me. He tilted his head a bit sideways as if he found it curious what I was saying but I hadn't even opened my mouth yet.

"You might want to calm down a little, Jacob. You're scaring your imprint."

Imprint? Is that like an insult? If it is, how am I supposed to respond to it? I don't even know what an imprint is! The guy seemed to find my inner battle amusing. I guess my face was a bit funny at the moment. It wasn't to Jacob though. He was shaking like an earthquake right now but I could tell he was trying to calm down. He just wasn't very successful at it. I was starting to really panic now. Something was wrong with Jacob and the pale dude was no help at all. I glanced around us but there was nowhere in sight. Why had we taken the small route that went by the woods? If we had taken the main road we wouldn't be having this problem.

"Go away!" Jacob growled.

Okay, now he was just being rude to the guy. At least that's what I thought but when I looked up at his face, I saw he had directed those words to me. Ouch, that had hurt. Why was he suddenly being this hostile towards me?

"Jacob's right. You should leave. He'll come and see you first thing tomorrow."

"Don't talk to her!" Jacob yelled.

"You are going to hurt her. Calm down."

I didn't understand how the man could be so calm when the situation was clearly getting out of control. And why did he say Jacob was going to hurt me? He might be mad right now but I find it hard to believe that he would ever lay a hand on me. However he was shaking out of control right now. He looked like a blur to me.

Before I understood what was happening the pale man had shoved me out of the way and I fell on the ground a few feet away from Jacob and the guy. Jacob let out this angry growl and in that moment I found it very hard to believe he was usually such a tender person. He looked like a wild animal right now. I heard a ripping sound of flesh before I saw it. Jacob's features had started to change and before I could fully grasp what was happening before my eyes, a wolf stood in his place. No, wolf wasn't the right description. It looked like the crossing of a wolf and a bear. It was huge! On his four paws he was over the size of the man. The wolf (for lack of a better word) swung his paw in the man's face and caused ugly scars to mark the once beautiful features. But when I blinked, the scars had already disappeared. It was like they had never been there in the first place. That's not supposed to happen! The pale man moved at an incredible speed behind the wolf to keep its head in a firm lock. This wasn't normal! The man wasn't normal, almost inhuman! What the hell was going on?

The wolf whined in pain and looked at me. My heart almost stopped beating in that moment. The way the wolf looked at me reminded me so much of Jacob, my precious wouldn't-hurt-a-fly-Jacob.

"Oh my god." I breathed out in shock.

The wolf is Jacob! I stumbled back a little but landed once again on my ass. The wolf is Jacob! Jacob can change into a wolf! This was not happening! Things like that aren't supposed to happen! In books okay, but not in La Push! I could feel a panic attack rising to the surface. What had I gotten myself into? Maybe Jacob needed a virgin sacrifice once a year and this time his choice fell on me. My mind was starting to fill itself with gruesome stories, each one more horrifying than the last one.

I heard more growling now. It wasn't just coming from the Jacob-wolf anymore. I was being surrounded by it. Out of the woods more wolf-like creatures came. They were all the size of a horse and were threateningly stepping closer to the man who still held the russet wolf in a head lock. It was an invasion! There were so many of them. I counted at least 5 other wolfs. It's a pack! Right here in La Push and nobody knows. And now nobody will ever find out because once they kill the man, they'll eat my intestines. I think I'm going to pass out.

"Calm down, Sam. I just wanted to talk to Jacob but he lost it."

The black one in the front growled menacingly at the man. Sam? That was the guy who told me not to go into the woods and Jacob said he was the boss. Oh God, he meant Sam was the leader of their little pack!

"I stopped him from harming Erin."

Yeah, right, as if I suddenly mattered to the people who seemed like they just walked out of a Mary Shelley book. How did the pale man know my name anyway? Oh, God, he wants to convert me to the dark side! Now my imagination was really spinning out of control.

"Fine, I will." The man said after this Sam growled at him again.

He dropped the russet wolf who was apparently Jacob on the floor and took a big step back. All the wolves were now full out glaring at him and getting closer. This is good, it means their attention is fixed on the pale dude. I grabbed the opportunity to scramble to my feet and run off. I didn't dare to look behind me to see if they were chasing me. I don't think I have ever ran as fast as I did now. The walk that would take 15 minutes for me to get home, only took me 5 minutes in my desperate sprint.

Luckily for me the door was unlocked and I quickly made it inside. Once I was in the house, I started locking every door and window. There is no way those things are getting in here. Bryan was staring at me as if I had completely lost my mind. I didn't care. It was freaking War of the Worlds out there and we were going on lockdown.

"What are you doing?" he asked me after I finally stopped running around in the house.

I was still panting as if I'd just ran for my life, which I did!

"We are never leaving this house, ever again!"

I was going to make sure my family would stay here forever, even if I had to tie them to a chair for the rest of their lives.

_So what do you guys think? Please, tell me! I'd really like to know_


	29. Truly betrayed

_A new chapter? So fast? Why yes! And I think you should all review, what do you say?_

_Oh, and one other thing: Woohoo! 200 reviews! Thank you so much to all the people who review, I adore you all!_

**Chapter 29**

It had been three hours since I had stormed into our house and I still hadn't calmed down. I had started shouting every time my dad or Bryan wanted to open a window. I'm sure my dad is now under the impression that I'm having a mental breakdown but I don't care. At least it made him stay at home. Bryan had already called his friend Nathan to say he won't stop by tonight because his sister turned into a lunatic.

My dad had sent me to bed early. He said a good night sleep would fix everything. But it didn't. During the evening I had been plagued with the images of the afternoon and they only got worse at night. I dreamt of men changing into giant wolves and tearing all the people I loved to shreds. It certainly didn't help that I woke up several times during the night by a wolf howling.

When morning finally arrived, my dad walked into my room, saw the state I was in and called the school to tell them I was sick. It wasn't a lie. I really felt the most awful I had ever felt in my entire life. Even a terrible hangover can't compete with this trauma. I was under the impression that if I just stayed in my house forever, everything would be alright. Of course, the universe had to go and prove me wrong.

"Hey, Erin."

I jumped up and screamed when a voice suddenly started talking to me. It was only when I turned around and saw Jackie standing in the doorway of my bedroom, that my heart calmed down a little.

"I didn't mean to scare you but you're dad said you were up here. He didn't want to leave you all alone in the house so he called me."

"Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"Normally yes but after what happened yesterday, I thought you could use my help."

Did she just say what I think she did? How the hell did she know that?

"This isn't how you were supposed to find out. Jacob would invite you to a bonfire, Billy would tell us the legends and then Jacob would gently break it to you that he's a shape-shifter."

Wait, What? Bonfire? Legends? Shape-shifter? Is she trying to tell me that the legends are actually real stories?

"Wha- I mean... Could...Huh?"

"I know it's a lot to take in at first but you'll eventually get used to the idea of dating a protector."

"What are you talking about!"

"Jacob did explain you everything last night, right?"

Yeah right! As if I'd let him into my house. I don't really have the ambition to become a wolf snack any time soon. So I just gave her the What-the-hell-are-you-talking-about-face.

"You don't know what I'm talking about, do you?" Works every time!

"Well, what exactly happened last night?"

Ouch, this is the part where I have to tell her half our High School is made up out of Bigfoot's pets. Even worse, I have to tell her she's dating one.

"We were walking home from school when suddenly this man comes out of the forest. I guess man is not really the right word because there was just something not right about him and then there is also the fact he moved at the speed of light."

"Oh my god! What was he like? I've never met one in person."

"..."

"Oh, right! The story. Please continue."

"And then he just started shaking and got so angry."

"Wait, are we talking about the man or Jacob?"

"Why would the man start shaking?"

"I don't know. Maybe the cold does affect them."

Pretty much everything that was coming out of Jackie's mouth was gibberish to me.

"And then suddenly he changed into this giant wolf and attacked the man. Out of the blue a lot of other giant wolves stepped out of the forest and the man called one of them Sam! Do you know what that means! The entire La Push Gang are flesh eating wolf-bears! Embry changes into a wolf!"

It was extremely setting me off that all she did during the story was nod as if it all made perfect sense to her. I just announced to her that she's going out with one of nature's mistakes and she is not freaking out. Why is she not freaking out!

"You knew."

She had known all along! The look of guilt that passed her face right now, said it all. She probably knew from the very beginning: when she asked me to meet Embry, when she had pushed me into going out with Jacob, when she had wanted to know if I liked wolves!. She had known the truth this entire time and kept it from me.

"You lied to me!"

"No Erin, I didn't. I wanted to tell you but I couldn't."

"It isn't really that hard to open up your mouth and pronounce words!"

"It's not something you can just announce to the entire world!"

"But I am your friend, I am your best friend! And you pushed me to go out with Jacob while you knew what he was."

"It's not a bad thing! They protect the tribe, they're almost like heroes."

"Heroes don't change into things like that!"

"You're making them sound like abominations."

"They are!"

I didn't mean that. Well, not completely. Men changing into giant wolves practically screams freaks of nature to me but we were talking about boys I went to school with. I had known these guys my whole life and yes, we don't actually get along but that doesn't make them monsters. I was just totally freaking out at the moment.

"I want you to leave."

"Erin! I'm trying to help you."

"How? By just pointing out that everyone has been lying to me all along?"

"We weren't lying."

"Then what would you call it?"

Oh, now she was speechless. She opened and closed her mouth several times but clearly couldn't think of anything to say.

"Are you going to talk to Jacob?"

"Why would I do that? I have absolutely no intention of including any one of you in my life."

I saw the shock on her face but in that moment I truly meant what I said. I just couldn't see myself forgiving any of them in the near future and then there's also the fact that those guys changing into wolves, scares the hell out of me. I don't even know if I could ever look at Jacob again, let alone tell him everything is cool between us. It just doesn't work that way.

Without saying anything else, Jackie left my room and a few seconds later I heard the door slam shut. I couldn't believe how much my life had changed in the past 24 hours. Yesterday at this hour I was walking hand in hand with Jacob through the school wondering why he was acting so strange. Now I'm guessing he was probably thinking of a way to tell me he's secretly a wolf.

It had been two days since I had last seen Jackie. I had convinced my dad not to make me go to school since I was still terrified of what was outside the comfort of my safe home. But during those days something that Jackie had said, kept replaying in my mind: _"This isn't how you were supposed to find out. Jacob would invite you to a bonfire, Billy would tell us the legends and then Jacob would gently break it to you that he's a shape-shifter."_

Embry had been very strict about me knowing the legends and Jackie had brought them up as well. Maybe that had something to do with them being all wolves. I could vaguely remember legend about shape-shifters. I quickly got up from my bed and searched my room for the book Embry had given me a few days ago. He had said I should know the right version from every legend. I had just took it because he wouldn't take no for an answer but I hadn't really read it yet. Maybe the book could explain a few things to me. Jackie had called Jacob a shape-shifter at a certain point so it would only be logical that I would find what I was looking for in the chapter on shape-shifters.

_The Shape-shifters are descended from the ancient Spirit Warriors of the Quileute tribe. Back then, Warriors and chiefs could leave their bodies and wander as spirits, blow fierce winds, communicate with animals and hear each other's thoughts. _

Well, that's disappointing. It says absolutely nothing about changing into a wolf. Or does this mean they can also be like ghosts but I can't see them? Maybe Jacob was even in this room, watching me and I didn't even know. I shivered. Now I was just being ridiculous. Then again, people changing into wolves was also pretty ridiculous but that didn't make it any less true. I decided to keep reading. Maybe I would find my answers later on.

_The legend goes that one spirit warrior, Utlapa, wanted to use the power to enslave neighbouring tribes, the Hohs and the Makahs. Unwilling to use the warriors' powers for such monstrous purposes, his chief Taha Aki banished him from the tribe. One day, the chief left his body in a hiding place to sweep through the valley in his spirit form, searching the area for anything that may pose a threat to the tribe. Utlapa followed him and possessed his body, then cut his own body's throat to prevent Taha Aki's return. _

_The chief wandered for a while in spirit form, watching the thief do unspeakable things to his people. One day, the chief's spirit found a large, beautiful wolf in the woods. Though jealous of the wolf's physical form, an idea came to him. He asked the wolf to share his body with him and the wolf agreed. Rushing back to the village as the wolf, he met a party of warriors and he tried to make himself known by yelping Quileute songs. One of the warriors, an elderly man named Yut, realized that the wolf was under a spirit's control and ,disobeying the usurper Utlapa's orders not to enter the spirit world, left his body to talk to the beast. The false chief, alarmed at Yut entering the spirit world as he feared that his treachery would be revealed, killed the warrior. Taha Aki became enraged and lunged forward intending to kill the man. His emotions were too much for the wolf and it transformed into a magnificent human, the glorious flesh interpretation of Taha Aki's flawless spirit. The false chief was killed and things were rapidly set right. Taha Aki sired many children and found out that his sons, at the age of manhood, could transform into wolves as well. That is how the wolves came to be._

This was a lot to take in at once. Was I suppose to believe that Jacob and the others are all descendents of the first shape-shifter, Taha Aki? If I hadn't seen them myself, I would never have believed it but I had witnessed it with my own two eyes. Somehow that made this story so much more realistic.

But I still had so many questions that were left unanswered: Why would they change into wolves? Why hadn't Jacob told me about this? Why did he get so angry the other day? And most importantly: What was that man? Since there are clearly supernatural beings in La Push, I don't find it hard to believe that man wasn't human either. Then what was he? I found my answer in another Quileute legend.

_Many years after Taha Aki had given up his spirit wolf, several young Makah women went missing and the Makah tribe blamed the Quileute shape-shifters for the disappearances. They were uninvolved and Taha Aki tried to pacify the Makah chief, but was unable to. Not wanting a war on his hands, he sent his eldest son, Taha Wi, to find the true culprit. Taha Wi and five other wolves searched the mountains for the missing Makah girls and came across a sickly sweet smell in the forest that burned their noses to the point of pain. They followed the unfamiliar scent and further on discovered human scent and blood. They knew that they had found the enemy who had kidnapped the Makah women. The journey took them so far up north that Taha Wi sent half of the pack, the younger wolves, back to the Quileute village to report to Taha Aki. Taha Wi and his two brothers never returned. The younger wolves could find no trace of their brothers and Taha Aki mourned for his sons. His grief was so convincing that the Makah chief believed him and tensions ended between the two tribes._

_Two years later, two more Makah girls disappeared from their homed during the night. The Quileute wolves were called at once and they found the same sickly stench all through the Makah village. They followed the smell but only Yaha Uta, the youngest member of the pack, returned, carrying with him a strange, cold, stony corpse in pieces. He and his brothers had found a creature that looked like a man but was hard as granite, with the Makah girls. One was dead and drained of blood, the other was having her blood drank by the creature who snapped her neck. His lips were covered in her blood and his eyes glowed red. The wolves attacked him but he was immensely strong and fast. One of the wolves fell, the other two continued to fight. They discovered that their teeth could damage it and started to tear chunks out of the creature. Yaha Uta's brother was being crushed by the creature when Yaha Uta managed to tear its head off and rip it to shreds. _

_Yaha Uta brought the creature's remains back to the harbour and laid them out for the tribe to inspect. The creature, which they called the Cold One and the Blood Drinker, tried to reassemble itself, so they burned the pieces and scattered them. _

Immensely fast and strong? That sounded like the man I'd seen the other day but his eyes had not been red, they were golden. I felt like everything was supposed to become clear to me but there were still so many pieces of information missing. I knew exactly who could give me my answers but I didn't know if I was ready to face Jacob so soon.

_Hope you liked it. For all the people who wanted Erin to get mad at Jackie, are you happy?_

_I'm in a good mood because I've just finished chapter 30 and if I do say so myself, it's a good one! So if you want to read it soon, I suggest you review..._


	30. Exploding boys? Dracula? What the hell?

_I should tell you the next chapter is ready more often because you guys definitely wanted to read it, considering all the reviews I've gotten. Thank you so much and keep up the good reviewing work!_

_I actually really like this chapter. I wrote it in one afternoon because I was so excited about it. I hope you're crazy about it as well._

**Chapter 30**

After deliberating an entire day on what to do with the whole Jacob thing, I decided to go see him. I didn't know if I would actually ring the doorbell, but I would try. I hadn't seen Jacob in four days and when I stood in front of his door, I was surprised by how fast my heart was beating by the prospect of seeing him again. When I finally rang the doorbell and almost bit off my nails because of the nerves, nobody came to open. Maybe there just wasn't anyone at home. Billy Black could be over at a friend's house and Jacob might be doing whatever it is shape-shifter-things do on a Saturday. I was going to leave and get back to my house on lock down when I thought of another possibility.

Every step I took closer to the shed in the Black's backyard, my heart skipped a beat. There was no doubt in my mind that Jacob was in there. Maybe this enormous pull I'm feeling towards it, is another thing of the legends? It was too late to turn around and leave. I was already standing in the doorway of the shed and only seeing his back, was enough to make me never leave again.

"I told you not to come here! I want to be left alone!"

He sounded rather angry and for a moment I considered the possibility of just running away. But he probably thought I was someone else and even if those words were meant for me, too bad! I wanted to be left alone as well but then Jacob waltzed into my life and made me fall in love with him and all that shit.

I coughed to get his attention and it worked like a charm. The car he had been working on, was immediately abandoned and he turned around so fast, I thought he might fall.

"Erin."

He didn't look too good. He had bags under his eyes and his hair was a complete mess. He looked really tired as if he hadn't slept these past few days. Even though that would serve him right for scaring the hell out of me like that, his lack of sleep was making me worry for his wellbeing.

"You came."

He stretched his arms out while taking a step forward, like he was going to hug me but then changed his mind and dropped his arms again. Maybe it was for the better. I don't think I want Jacob to touch me right now.

"Do you hate me now? Jackie says you do." He said with a pained expression.

"I don't. I'm just really confused right now."

He nodded. Surely he would understand how insane you go when your boyfriend suddenly turns into a wolf in front of you. Although I don't think he's been in my position before.

"So...do you want to talk about it?" He asked.

"Kind of. There are still a lot of things that don't make sense to me."

"Well, I guess I should start by telling you that what I am is a-"

"Shape-shifter."

He looked at me with big eyes. That's right: I'm not as stupid as I look.

"How do you-?"

"I know the legends and I read the book Embry gave me."

"You read it? I thought you were going to toss it away the minute he gave it to you."

I had actually thought about doing that but Jackie had read my mind and told me it could come in handy one day. Of course, she didn't simply tell me that everyone was a shape-shifter and I might want to read about them since I'm dating one. No, that would have made things less complicated and we couldn't have that.

"So I get that you're... that. But why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why you? Out of all the people in the world, why did you change into one?"

"It's genetic. The first Quileute shape-shifters past it on to their sons and they passed it on to their sons and so on."

"Are you trying to tell me that everyone on the reservation is one of those shape-shifters?"

I have to admit, I do not like that idea. I already find it hard to deal with the fact Jacob is one and nobody found it necessary to tell me. Imagine it being this secret the entire reservation is on, except me. Or worse, imagine Tara Greenwell can change into one as well! I don't know about the others but she would definitely eat out my intestines.

"No, there are only a few of us. Through time Quileute people married people outside of the tribe and the gene became rare. But the Black family apparently continued to turn into shape-shifters."

I wondered if Billy was one too. How would that work with the wheelchair and all?

"Are you like born with it?"

I couldn't help but feel repulsed by the idea of Jacob's mother giving birth to a child that changed into a wolf cub and back all the time. That must have hurt like hell with the claws and all.

"You're born with the gene but the phasing only happens later on. It happened to me over a year ago."

"Phasing?"

"Changing into your wolf form."

I nodded. That made more sense to being born half man, half wolf.

"A year ago? That's when you got all buff."

"Exactly. When the gene is triggered, you start growing like cabbage, get a really bad temper and then the fever kicks in. Eventually you get so angry that you feel like you'll explode and then you do."

"You explode!"

He must have realised that an exploding Jacob kind of scared me and quickly changed his choice of words.

"Not really explode. It's phasing but to me it felt like I exploded out of my skin."

"It sounds painful. Is it?"

The possibility of Jacob being in pain every time he 'phased' freaked me out. As much as I don't like him anywhere too close to me right now, I couldn't bear the idea of him being in pain.

"The first time it is. The first time anyone of us phases, it hurts like hell."

That didn't really make me feel any better and the fact that he was probably all alone when it happened made me feel like I had failed. Failed to do what?

"It hurts because my bones are adapting themselves to being a wolf but once that happens, it doesn't hurt to phase anymore. It becomes like a second nature and most of the time it's a relief to be a wolf."

"Relief?"

I found it hard to believe that changing into an animal could be relieving.

"Maybe it doesn't make sense to you because you don't know what it feels like."

And I'm so grateful for that! But I wanted honesty from him right now. I wanted to be able to understand everything coming from his mouth from now on.

"Then explain it to me."

"It's not just your body that changes. Your mentality, your way of thinking changes as well."

Does he lose his mind or something and only relies on instinct? Because if that's true, he's not just a guy in a wolf body, he really is just an animal.

"Your still a person but suddenly you see things from another perspective. When I'm in wolf form, some of my troubles seem so insignificant. Like every solution to them is just so much closer than I thought while I was still in my human form. It's a relief."

I nodded. At least there was a good part to changing into a wolf.

"You said you phase when the gene is triggered. How does that happen?"

"I wish I didn't have to tell you this part." He sighed.

"Do you remember what happened before I phased in front of you?"

Of course, I remember everything that happened that afternoon. It kept coming back to me in my dreams after all.

"You started shaking, like you always do when you're angry."

"That's right. Because of what we are, we feel emotions so much stronger than normal people do. So when we get angry, really angry, our body pushes us to phase. Of course we can't just phase anywhere, anytime we want to and we have to fight the impulse to phase which is why we shake."

"But why were you angry?"

"Remember the man?"

"Edward?"

"How do you know that?"

"Well, he mentioned Bella and you didn't seem to like him very much. It wasn't that hard to put two and two together."

"You really are too smart for your own good."

I wouldn't call myself smart right now. After all I had no idea my boyfriend could change into a wolf even when all the signs were apparently there.

"Did you read the legend of the Cold Ones?"

I nodded. I already had a vague idea about where this was going.

"Edward is a Cold One, my natural enemy. I can't be close to him without my body wanting to phase to attack him."

"And when you say Cold One, you mean..."

"Vampire."

It shouldn't have been such a shock to me. If shape-shifters existed, why not vampires? But Jacob doesn't hurt anyone while vampires kill young virgins and suck their blood out. Or is that just a prejudice?

"A vampire?"

"Yes."

"As in Dracula? As in scary demons who change into bats?"

"Not exactly. The real vampires look so much like humans that you could never guess what they are."

"Doesn't that make them even more dangerous?"

"Yes. They are designed to lure people in. They are insanely beautiful, they smell good to humans and people just want to be near them."

That's weird. Yes, I had thought he was beautiful but I didn't want to be near him. In fact I had wanted to run away from him as fast as I could. In a way I had been more frightened by the man than by Jacob even though it was him who changed into a giant wolf.

"Do they kill people?"

I was a bit afraid for the answer but if they did, why hadn't this Edward killed me yet?

"Normal vampires drink human blood and kill the person in the process. People can't defend themselves against vampires. They are inhumanly fast and strong. Humans don't stand a chance."

"Then why am I alive if that vampire could have killed me like that?"

Jacob growled loudly and he immediately reminded me of the scary wolf I had seen that afternoon. I quickly took a step in the opposite direction of him and my back hit a table which made some stuff fall on the floor. This seemed to draw his attention because he took one look at my frightened expression and stopped shaking.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to scare you, I don't want you to be afraid of me."

He looked so sad right now and I wanted to tell him that everything was okay, that I wasn't afraid of him. But that would be a lie.

"I just... The idea of something happening to you is already enough to make me phase out of anger. I don't want you to get hurt. I won't let anyone ever hurt you, especially Edward."

I nodded. What else was I supposed to do?

"To come back to your question. He wouldn't dare try and.."

He swallowed as if trying to get a bad taste out of his mouth.

"...k-kill you. I would tear him apart limb by limb."

I used to find it hard to imagine Jacob being aggressive but now that I knew about him being a shape-shifter, this dangerous side seems to rise to the surface and I didn't like it one bit. Where was my sweet and sensitive Jacob?

"I thought you said they're indestructible?"

"Not indestructible. I said humans don't stand a chance against them but shape-shifters do. We exist to rid the world of vampires, to protect the people. There is only one way to kill a vampire and that is ripping them to pieces and burn them. Our teeth is one of the only things that can pierce their granite skin."

"So you fight vampires?"

"Yes but there aren't that many so most of the time we patrol around the border in pairs of two or three. That's why we skip school so much."

There goes the steroids and drug dealing gossip. I kind of wish that was the true story.

"You must hate it."

Fighting vampires, painful transformations, missing school and miss out on a proper education ; being a shape-shifter sounded like a big pain in the butt.

"I did. But it's not all terrible. There are great things about it too."

"Like what?"

"Being a part of the pack is like having one giant family, like you belong somewhere. The heightened senses that come with phasing are definitely a benefit. And then there is you. Being a shape-shifter has brought me you. How could I possibly hate it then?"

"What do I have to do with being a shape-shifter?"

"There are other things that come with phasing than growth, high body temperature and heightened senses. There is the possibility to imprint."

Imprint? Where had I heard that word before?

"What's that?" I asked quietly, fearing the answer.

"Imprinting is when you see your soul mate and suddenly everything else in your life becomes insignificant. Nothing else matters to you but her. You'd do anything to make her happy and from that moment on, you will love her like no one has ever loved before."

"Are you telling me that's what happened to you?" I whispered.

"When I first looked at you, really looked at you, my world stopped and all I could see was you. Things that used to be so important to me, fall into nothing compared to you. You make me complete, you made me whole again."

Of all the things I had heard today, that was the most unexpected one and that definitely says something since I've heard stories of shape-shifters and vampires all day. I have to admit that something happened inside of me as well the day we met at the beach but it wasn't anything like Jacob just described to me. This was all so much to take in.

"Erin?"

"Huh?"

"Could you say something? Please? I know it's mind-blowing information but your silence is killing me right now." He pleaded.

"I don't know what to say."

"Just say that you won't run away. That even though this is hard and too much, you'll stay."

I thought he wanted me to tell him I loved him to death as well and that I wanted to get married right away. Telling him not to run away was slightly easier. I could do that.

"I will. Even though this is mind-blowing and probably the scariest thing that has ever happened to me, I'm not going anywhere."

After all there are worst things in life than being Jacob Black's soul mate.

_And...?_


	31. Thin line between reality and imprinting

_I'm back! I worked really hard on this chapter, I work hard on all my chapters so I was kind of disappointed that I didn't get much reviews for chapter 30. Of course there were people that did so I would especially like to thank ForeverTeamEdward13, Kikikiki, dstj1432, tasaria, secretprincess and AngelHeartFantasy12 for their awesome reviews. Thank you so much!_

**Chapter 31**

The idea of Jacob being a shape-shifter and me being his soul mate was easier to get used to than I had expected. There was still one problem. I didn't trust him. Every time I was near him, I was afraid he'd lose his control and go wolf on me. I tensed up completely whenever he was standing too close to me and I even screamed when he had tried to hold my hand. Oh, and then there is also the fact that I apparently can't seem to get over him being a killer, even if they were vampires. And he had also lied to me this entire time. But other than all that I was doing great. At least that's what I keep telling him and myself. I don't want this to come in between us but it does.

"Ready?" He asked.

I shrugged. I didn't see why this was a big deal to him. He had asked me to come meet the pack on Sunday, he wanted to officially introduce me to them. He was making a big deal out of nothing. I saw these people every day at school. I knew who they were. The only difference now is that I also know what they are.

Jacob had come pick me up at my house and he said we were going to Emily's. I don't know what that means but apparently I'm going to meet the pack today while knowing that they really are a pack. I was the most nervous to see Jackie. She was going to be there as well since she is Embry's imprint apparently. The fact that she also knew about imprinting, made me even less willing to smooth things out with her. I was still kind of mad at her. I was still kind of mad at everyone.

Eventually Jacob pulled up a driveway and stopped in front of a small but cute house. I was a bit reluctant to get out of the car but still followed Jacob into the house. I found it a bit rude to just walk into the house without knocking but apparently that's a habit around here because the people inside didn't seem fazed by it at all.

"Hi Erin, my name's Emily. I'm so glad we finally got to meet. I've been very much looking forward to meeting you."

And then she hugged me. Everybody knows I'm not a hugger and especially at moments I'm mentally freaking out, like right now. I would have pushed her away, hadn't it been for the fact that I was very surprised she wasn't boiling hot like apparently all the shape-shifters are. If she's not a shape-shifter, then why is she here? Jacob apparently has the ability to read my mind because he answered my question.

"She's Sam's imprint."

I nodded but didn't really get it. Wasn't imprinting supposed to be rare?

"That's my fiancée, Sam. He's alpha."

Don't know what the hell that means but I just nodded.

"And this is the pack: Jared, Paul, Embry, Quil, Seth, Leah, Collin and Brady. And these are the other imprints Jackie and Kim. Claire couldn't come today but you'll meet her some other time then."

How many imprints were there? Scratch that, how many shape-shifter were there? How can no one know about their existence? Jacob seemed to be aware of how uncomfortable I was in this room but the others didn't seem to notice. Jared and Embry smiled at me from their seat but seemed more focused on their girlfriends than anything else. I'm pretty sure Kim didn't even notice me coming in. Paul, Brady and Leah were glaring at me but I don't know why that is. Seth, Collin and Quil seemed excited to have me here but their enthusiasm was even worse. And then there was Jackie. She was looking at me with a very uncomfortable look like she didn't know what to say. Good, at least she knew she was in trouble and actually felt guilty about it this time.

"Are you hungry? I just made muffins and if you want any you'll have to take them now, before the pack eats them all."

I told her I wasn't that hungry and that got me a worried look from Jacob. And then there was silence. Nobody seemed to know what to say to me and I didn't feel like making an effort at all. Especially Emily seemed bothered by the silence and tried her best to break the tension in the room. Unfortunately she didn't come up with the best of subjects.

"I heard you're Jackie's best friend."

"Yeah, that's what I thought as well."

"Erin..." Jackie whined.

I guess she didn't like me implying we weren't friends anymore. You know who else didn't like it? Embry! And I know this because he growled at me when I glared at Jackie. Yeah, growled! And Jackie finds it weird the whole animal thing freaks me out. Go figure!

The tension only got worse when Jacob took a protective stance in front of me and growled at Embry in turn. Sam had to step up and interfere before both of them calmed down. I know Jacob did that with the best intentions but it just made me want to put more space in between us. I think Emily must have felt my incredible discomfort because she came to my rescue.

"Would you like to drink something, Erin. We'll go get it in the kitchen."

I nodded. Anything to get out of this room! I followed Emily into the kitchen and there I finally felt as if I could breathe again.

"You looked like you could use a break from the pack."

"Yeah, thanks."

"You're welcome. I'm just so used to them by now that I sometimes forget how overwhelming they can be for someone else."

"They are a little...intense."

I don't know what was funny about what I said but Emily laughed anyway.

"Don't speak too loud or they'll hear you. They might not all take that well."

"Hear it? Unless they are all super quiet and standing right behind the door, I don't think they can hear what we're saying."

"Of course they can. With their super hearing they hear things you and I don't."

"Super hearing...right..."

I'm getting the impression Jacob left out a lot of pieces of the story. The super hearing, the many imprints, what else hadn't he told me?

"It can be a lot at first but you'll eventually get used to it. I can't even imagine anymore how my life would be without them."

I didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing. She seemed very relaxed with the shape-shifters-being-real-thing. How did she do it?

"Since you didn't get the legends told around the bonfire like you were supposed to, I was thinking we might have one this Friday. What do you think?"

"Euhm...sure?"

"That's great! We almost never get someone new at the bonfires. Not a lot of people are allowed to know the truth, you know."

"Why is that? If being a shape-shifter is so heroic and keeping it a secret is such a burden then why don't they just tell everyone?"

"It's a tribe secret. No one is allowed to know. Those are the rules."

"If it's this big secret then how come you and I know?"

"Nobody is allowed to know except the imprints."

"Not even their parents?"

"Well no but some do."

"Wait, didn't you just say absolutely no one was allowed to know? No exceptions?"

I was really getting confused right now. I had hoped Emily could make sense out of this mess but it just seemed to be getting worse.

"Yes, but the elders know because they are the ones who told the legends to the wolves and since the elders are parents of some of the wolves, those parents know."

"Okay, so the elders and the..."

It's strange how weird it is to call myself Jacob's imprint aka his soul mate. Yeah, I have no idea why that is so hard...

"...imprints are the only ones who have ever been told about them being shape-shifters, right?"

"...yeah..."

Now I may not be a lie detector, as we all know very well by now, but I could still pick out that obvious lie.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing..."

Emily was a terrible liar, worse than me and that's saying something.

"Look, if I'm going to be a part of all this, then I might as well know everything about it."

She seemed to be fighting an internal battle but apparently my side had won because she sighed and began the story.

"There is one girl who knows as well...One of the wolves -don't ask me who, I won't tell- was convinced that she was his true love even if he didn't imprint on her. So he indirectly told her about what he was and what the pack does without Sam's permission. They need his permission to do that because he's alpha."

There is that weird word again. Maybe I should ask her what that means but I'll just wait for her to finish the story first.

"Because she already knew, the elders agreed with bringing her to one of our bonfires. And so she became the only outsider who knows."

I wouldn't really call her an outsider since she knew the truth and one of the pack was in love with her. I felt kind of bad for the both of them. He apparently loved her but because he didn't get the whole she's-my-universe-experience, she doesn't count as a real member?

"But that was a long time ago. He's found his real soul mate now and he doesn't even think about...the girl anymore."

I didn't get why she was so reluctant to tell me the name of the girl or the name of the boy or why she didn't even want to tell me the story in the first place. It's not like it changes anything. Unless it does. Maybe she didn't want to tell me all this because it would change my opinion on something.

"Who was the girl?"

"That really doesn't matter right now, Erin. Would you like a muffin?"

Why was she evading my question? She was acting as if she just did a terrible thing by telling me the story. Maybe someone would get angry at her for it. Would Jacob be angry about it? Is that why she doesn't want to tell me? And even if that's true, why would it anger Jacob? It's not like she told me something personal about him that I wasn't supposed to know...Right?...Right?

"You're talking about Bella."

Emily's eyes widened to the size of the muffins in her hands. I was right. She had been talking about her. The story of the boy finding his true love in her and loving her so much to break the rules of not telling her, is about Jacob!

I'm so stupid! How did I not realise this any sooner? Emily didn't want to tell me this because this does change everything. Jacob loves Bella and the only reason he's not with her right now is because he met me and the imprint made him want to be with me instead.

"That doesn't changes anything! He's with you now, he imprinted on you and he loves you so much. I see how happy he is now and I can't believe..."

I didn't even hear what she was saying anymore. My head was spinning like crazy and I had to hold on to the counter to prevent myself from falling. Me and Jacob, it's not true love at all. It's not even real!

The spinning was slowing down but I got incredibly hot by now. I had to get out of here. My eyes fell on the backdoor in the kitchen. Perfect. Before Emily could say anything else, I was already out the door. I walked back to the car but since I didn't have the keys, I just kept walking in the direction of the street.

I wasn't even looking where I was putting my feet anymore. All I kept thinking about was Bella and Jacob. He had been in love with her, he loved her and he still does. He had told me so himself and he's with me because he needs to be, because of the imprint, not because he wants me.

I could vaguely hear my name being called out by someone but I didn't pay any attention to it.

I was too focused on stumbling my way back to the main street. I couldn't stand to be here anymore. I wanted to go home, I wanted to wrap myself in my blankets and cry in my bed. Only when I thought about crying, did I realise it hadn't been rain dripping down on my face.

Suddenly my arm was forcefully pulled back and I was pulled into a chest, one I knew all too well. I wanted to pull out of his embrace but he was way too strong for me.

"Let go of me!"

He still wouldn't loosen his grip on me and kept repeating my name. I had once loved to hear him say my name but now it just hurts.

"Please let go of me!"

He slowly released his hold on me and I immediately took one giant step back. He looked at me with this incredibly pained expression, as if I had just ripped his heart out. I hated that I did that to him even if it wasn't really me. The imprint made him feel like this, it wasn't real. None of this was.

"Why are you leaving?"

I didn't answer his question. I just turned around and ran away. I didn't get very far. Jacob immediately pulled me back but at least this time he didn't try to hug me.

"You knew I used to be in love with Bella. What changed?"

"Everything! Everything I thought about you and me has changed. The way I look at us has changed. You didn't tell me how awful imprinting is!"

He looked taken aback and I saw something pass in his eyes but it was gone so fast, I didn't get the time to figure out what it was.

"It's not awful at all. I love it, I love you!"

"No, you don't! You hate it! When we met at the beach you looked at me as if-"

"As if I love you which I do."

"No, you looked at me as if I had just ruined your entire life and I did! You didn't want this, you don't want it at all! You were in love with Bella and then I show up and you imprint on me. That changed everything for you and not in the good way."

"Of course it changed! I met you, I fell in love with you and it's you that I want."

"The imprint wants me but you, you want Bella. And I can't be with you knowing that if there was no such thing as imprinting, we wouldn't be together, you wouldn't be in love with me, you wouldn't even have spoken to me. I can't do that. I don't want that, I don't want-"

"-me."

Of course, I wanted him! That's what this is all about. Everything was real to me but apparently it only is for me.

"You don't want me."

"Well, I guess that's a mutual thing, isn't it?" I snapped.

And just like that we didn't have anything left to say to each other even though there were still so many things I wanted him to know. And just like that I turned around and walked away. And he didn't come after me.

_Please please please review! I could really use the boost _


	32. Trying to change my mind

_I don't think I've ever gotten so many reviews for a chapter! Thank you, thank you, thank you so much! You absolutely made my day, every single one of you! I think I've made it clear that I really don't like Bella so everyone who agreed with me: that's the spirit! You guys are right, their relationship hasn't been easy but it's just so much fun to write And you have to admit: it would be a bit boring if they met, hooked up and they'd totally be contempt in their supernatural world._

_Please review and make my day! xx_

**Chapter 32**

I had thought about not going to school today but I had already missed so much last week. Besides, I wouldn't let a guy mess with my life like that, even if that guy was Jacob Black. My dad also didn't want me to stay at home anymore.

"You were fit enough to hang out with Andy yesterday, you're definitely fit enough to go to school today."

I had told him I went to Andy's place last night, after all he didn't know I was dating Jacob, or used to date Jacob I guess. At least the problem of telling him that is resolved. There is no point in telling him when it's already over.

"Andy's here."

I had called him early this morning, begging for a ride to school. I didn't expect Jackie to show up this morning after everything that happened and my brother refused to give me a ride to school. I got into the car with Andy and we drove to school in silence.

"Mind telling me why I'm making a huge detour to pick you up when all Jackie has to do is drive a few meters to your house." He asked me after a while.

"We're kind of... having a fight."

"Shocking! I don't see why you would suddenly have a fight with her now that you're dating her boyfriends best friend or is this not an Embry-related fight?"

I don't think he noticed how I cringed at the mention of Jacob. I had totally forgotten about telling Andy what happened last night. Well, I better do it now because he's going to find out eventually.

"Andy... Jacob and I... we broke up."

He turned to me in surprise and I actually saw some sadness lingering in his eyes. Why would he be sad about that? I thought he'd be celebrating.

"Why?"

"I don't really want to talk about. Sorry."

"Don't be. But at least now we can go out and have some fun, just the us two singles since I am officially Dana-free now."

"What? When did that happen?"

"I told you that I was thinking about ending things with her, right?"

I nodded.

"During the few days you were sick at home, she was constantly nagging and I finally made a choice and told her we were over."

"And she just accepted that?"

"Not really, she acted as if nothing happened and told her friends I was just in a bad mood but afterwards she started crying and begging me not to leave her. When that didn't work she got angry and slapped me in the face."

"Somehow I'm not surprised."

It felt kind of nice to talk to Andy about non-supernatural related things. As if nothing had changed these last few days. And why should it change anything at all? I wasn't dating a shape-shifter anymore so there is no need for that to have an impact on my life. Everything could go right back to the way it was before I met Jacob.

When Andy pulled into the parking lot, I was grateful to see Jackie wasn't there yet, neither was any of the... pack, I guess. We walked into the building and I actually had high hopes that I would be able to avoid all of them. However, when I got to my locker, Embry was standing next to it. As much as I just wanted to turn around and go to class, I needed my math books. Mr Kelry would kill me if I didn't have them with me and I needed him to be in a good mood when I'd ask him for a change to take my missed test.

I stopped in front of my locker and consciously ignored Embry's presence. I'm not that naive that I think I could just take my stuff and leave. There is no way Embry just happened to pick this place to stand.

"What are you doing, Erin?"

"Taking my books."

Maybe if I just gave him short answers, he would eventually go away. Yeah, there's no way that will happen. After all he's Jackie's boyfriend – or imprint, whatever- for a reason.

"That's not what I meant. I'm talking about the whole I-Can't-Do-This-Jacob-Speech you pulled last night. What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that after long consideration, I've come to the conclusion that I don't really like Jacob all that much and it would be selfish of me not to throw him to the vultures who love to call themselves the future Mrs Black."

This is probably one of the only times I'm glad bitchy Erin is coming to my rescue. At least this way Embry and all the future pack members who will try and change my mind, will back off. And at the same time I also wanted to unleash my bitchy side on Jackie. She always freaks out when I'm mean to her, that'll teach her.

"But you know how much you rejecting him, hurts him. You're his imprint."

"It not really a walk in the park for me either but I didn't ask to be his imprint. So I suggest he finds himself a new one."

"It doesn't work like that. Imprinting is for life." He sighed.

"That sucks. Do you have any more facts I should know so I could hate it even more? Or you could also just pull a Jackie and don't tell me anything."

I knew it was a low blow to drag Jackie into this discussion but I knew it would struck a chord with Embry, which is exactly why I did it. The minute I saw his reaction, I regretted it. The fact that he can change into a huge wolf and gobble me up, must have escaped my mind for a moment although I don't see how I could have forgotten about it. It had been the one thing on my mind this past week. When he started shaking like a leaf, I remembered and I also remembered the fact that he could easily hurt me. I quickly closed my locker and ran all the way to my classroom. I didn't want to be the person standing closest the him when he explodes. If that was Embry's way of convincing me shape-shifters were nice to be around, I don't see how he ever got Jackie to stay with him.

The classes were horrible. I had at least one member of the pack in each class and they kept glaring at me. I get it: you don't like me. Now please stop staring at me! I was already glad I didn't have any classes with Jacob because that would have been unbearable. I knew the things I said yesterday must have hurt him but I didn't want to actually see him hurting. I already had enough on my mind with my emotions, I didn't need his on top of that.

If Embry was the wake up call, Jared was the sense of reason. He stood in front of my class room when the bell rang and followed me all the way to the cafeteria.

"Just think about it. You are soul mates. You'll never find someone else who'll love you like Jacob does."

"I don't actually like the way he 'loves' me so your argument is not really a good one."

It's not really the full truth. I like the way Jacob treats me or at least the way he treated me before I found out he is a shape-shifter. That is if you don't count his ridiculous protectiveness over me. But I hated how everyone kept telling me how much he loved me. We hadn't even gotten to the stage where you say the L-word to each other. What makes them think I want to hear it from them?

During lunch I sat with Andy and ignored the looks the pack were giving me. I was so relieved to see Jacob wasn't there. I didn't want to see him, not now, not ever. Because the moment I see him again, I'll regret my decision and get back with him. That wouldn't be good because nothing has changed for me, I still don't want this. Seeing him would only make things harder when it's already unbearable.

I had the next class with Quil and it seemed that he found that moment the perfect opportunity to make a conversation with me, after not speaking to me for two years.

"Pssst, Erin!"

I tried to ignore him, I really did but being poked in the side every five seconds is rather distracting. Eventually I just gave up on that and turned to him.

"What do you want?"

"I want to talk about what Emily said yesterday."

"I don't see how that's any of your business. You don't even know what we talked about except if you were there with us. I didn't see you so unless you're a master at hide and seek, we're not having this conversation."

Quil wasn't as easily discouraged as Jared, neither did he have a vulnerability that could set him off like Embry. He just kept trying to get me to talk about it with him during the entire lesson and I eventually caved.

"I just thought you should know that Bella is in the past."

Did he really think Jacob didn't tell me that already?

"You're all he thinks about, ever."

"Of course he thinks about me, he has to because of the imprint, because the whole you're-my-soul-mate-whether-I-like-it-or-not-thing makes it impossible for him to ever think about someone else. It's no because he wants it that way."

"I don't think you fully understand what imprinting is about. You're only seeing the negative side."

I snorted. There was a positive side? The one thing I thought was good about imprinting was that I'd get the spend the rest of my life with Jacob but I didn't want that like this.

"Imprinting is not forcing him to love you, it just makes him see what the two of you spending your life together, would be like. If you weren't the perfect person for him, he wouldn't have fallen in lo-"

I ran out the door as soon as the bell rang. I didn't want to hear what Quil had to say, I didn't want to hear what any of them had to say. What was it going to take to make them realise they can't change my mind.

They couldn't change my mind, but Jacob sure could. I just figured he wasn't in school today because I hadn't seen him in the parking lot this morning and he wasn't there during lunch. But the man leaning against the black truck was definitely him. I felt kind of disappointed that he didn't look as bad as I thought he would. He was supposed to look horrible, like the way I felt. I don't think he noticed me because he was just staring into space, not even paying attention to the girls who were a few feet away, fanning all over him.

I thought about going to him for a moment, not because I wanted to talk to him but I just felt this immense need to be closer to him. The space that was between us right now was just too much. I kept repeating to myself that what I was feeling was just the stupid imprint and that if I was in my sane mind, I wouldn't feel the need to run up to him.

"Are you okay?"

I hadn't even noticed Adam standing next to me but I guess he'd been there for a while because he was aware of the look I had been giving Jacob. He kept glancing back and forward between him and me.

"Jackie told me what happened. I'm sorry."

I nodded in acknowledgement of what he said. I didn't care that he knew. The whole school would know soon once they realise me and Jacob don't talk anymore. We had been inseparable these last few weeks so people are going to notice.

"She also said you and her aren't talking anymore."

"I'm not really in the mood to chitchat, Adam."

"Okay then, do you need a ride home?"

That was actually something I needed right now. Andy's car didn't seem to be in the parking lot anymore and I hadn't exactly asked him to give me a ride back home this morning. I also didn't feel the need to walk all the way, so I accepted Adam's offer.

I walked up to his car and just when I was about to step in, I looked back at Jacob. Probably not the best thing to do but I hadn't exactly expected him to look back at me. There was just so much emotion in his eyes that I felt overwhelmed by it. His feelings were like a wave crashing over me and for a moment I couldn't breathe, I was afraid I would drown in it. I wanted to break the eye contact but for some reason I just couldn't.

"Erin. Erin, are you going to get in?"

I vaguely heard Adam speak to me but it took me a few more moments before I realised I had been staring at Jacob for way too long while Adam was waiting for me in the car. I quickly got in and sighed when I dropped my head back. Who was I kidding? I couldn't go back to the way things were before I met Jacob. I had fallen way too deeply in love with him.

_Okay, so this was not the grant love declaration from Jacob that I'm sure most of you expected but please don't be disappointed. I needed to make the chapter this way so the story would work out how I wanted (not that it's almost finished, not at all, there's still so much stuff to happen :p) but I'll just let you know that the next chapter is pretty mind-blowing even if I say so myself and it's my favourite chapter. Chapter 33 only needs the last finishing touch and I'm sure many reviews will speed up that process. 'i'm aware that I'm sort of blackmailing you but...I'm allowed to.) _


	33. I love  you!

_It's my favourite chapter so far and I hope you all agree. Thank you so much for all the awesome reviews!Oh and bonus: longest chapter I've ever written! Enjoy!_

**Chapter 33**

These past few days have been a living hell to me. Not only was everyone aware of the break-up between me and Jacob, girls came up to me in the hall way asking me why we broke up and if Jake might want to go out with them now. On top of all that I had to see Jacob every day and what made me feel even worse was him acting as if he didn't even notice me or that my presence didn't bother him at all. I am aware that it could all just be an act but damn it, I wanted to see some tears!

My dad had noticed that something was wrong but he also knew that once I wanted to talk about it, I'd come to him. Unfortunately this isn't really something I can discuss with him, I can't really discuss it with anyone since no one knows there are Shape-shifters in la Push and I had promised them to keep it a secret. Sam had come by my house on Tuesday, asking me not to tell anyone. He wouldn't leave until I promised so I just gave him what he wanted.

I was also starting to miss Jackie. It would be much easier to get over Jacob if I had my best friend by my side, not to mention someone who knows that the legends are true. But I was still too stubborn to forgive her and she hadn't made another attempt to talk to me. She did give me a lot of looks during the week so at least I knew she was suffering from this as much as I was. If only Jacob could do the same.

I might not have Jackie there for me right now but Andy was a really great support for me this week. Surprisingly enough Adam had stepped up as an amazing good friend as well and when I wasn't with Andy, Adam was with me. I was very grateful that they never left me alone because I was afraid that the moment they did, the pack would corner me.

Adam gave me a ride to and from school every day and every time we stood in the parking lot I had to fight the urge to look at Jacob. He always stood at the same place and he would follow me through the parking lot with his eyes. That was the only moment of the day he'd even look at me but it made me realise that it really was as agonising for him as it was for me.

"You ready?"

I nodded and followed Adam to his car. Like every day I had been immensely aware of Jacob's presence in the parking lot and I continued to ignore him. Except that today he wasn't standing alone. Tara Greenwell was right next to him. They were talking and he wasn't even looking at me. I don't know why but it made me feel as if he was cheating on me. I didn't have any claim on him and for God's sake: they were only talking! Yet after all the reasoning in my head, I still felt even more hurt than I felt these last few days and I didn't even think that was possible.

I quickly got into the car so I didn't have to see them anymore. Adam took off and soon we couldn't even see the school anymore. I had been staring out the window and I kept having these images in my head of Jacob and Tara kissing. Suddenly Adam pulled his car to the side of the road and when I looked at him, he seemed to be angry.

"I don't...I just...This wasn't...uh!"

And then he got out of the car. Was that supposed to make sense to me? He seemed upset pacing back and forth in front of the car. I decided to get out as well and ask him what is bothering him. He still seemed too angry to respond so I just sat on the cap of the car until he calmed down a little.

"Why are you this angry?"

"You! You make me angry! Jacob Black makes me angry!"

Was he mad because I had been relying so much on him lately? He didn't have to get so worked up about it. He could have just told me and I would have taken my depressed mood to Andy.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't say that. You can't help it."

I'm pretty sure that when I make him mad because I whine to him all the time, I can help it but he seemed to be thinking otherwise.

"Look Erin, I'm going to tell you something. And you can't say anything until I'm finished."

"Okay..."

"I was actually really happy for you when you started dating him because you deserve to be happy and even a blind man could see he made you happier than I've ever seen you."

Was there a point into rubbing it in my face that I had this amazing thing and now I don't?

"But you spend every moment of every day with him and did you guys have to kiss each other in front of everyone? At first I just thought I was uncomfortable by it because it was weird to see you kiss a guy. You used to be such a tomboy growing up. But if that was the case I shouldn't get angry every time you guys held hands or when you were even just talking to each other. Every gesture he made was a clear statement that you were his and it bothered me to the point that I wanted to punch him in the face."

As if he could actually hurt Jacob by doing that.

"What I mean is, he made you happy. That's why I wasn't planning to tell you this, because it wouldn't change anything, because you were so obviously madly in love with him. But he's not as good for you as I thought he would be. He's hurting you, every moment of every day and I can't stand to watch you go through this. I can't stand it because you mean so much to me, more than I originally thought, because... I love you, because I am in love with you."

Blank. When he uttered those word my mind went blank. I didn't know what to think, I didn't know what to say and I couldn't even remember how to control my facial expressions because I was now pretty much gaping at him.

"Adam..."

"I love you and I think I might have loved you my whole life. I would be good for you and I wouldn't hurt you like he did. I know this is a lot to take in, especially now and I know you might not be ready for this but that's okay. I have patience and if you let me, I'll wait until you're ready to move on, with me."

Before I could think of anything to say, Adam had gotten closer and pressed his lips against mine. The kiss wasn't all that bad but all I thought about was Jacob.

Jacob POV

Tara had gone up to talk to me today, like she had done every day for the past week. No matter how rude I was to her, she kept coming back for more. Couldn't she see that I didn't want her around me? The only girl I wanted standing right next to me was the beautiful pale brunette across the parking lot who would never again be mine. It physically hurt not to be able to be near her. Every day I wanted to go up to her and hold her for the rest of my life. Some days I was even planning on actually doing it despite the fact that I knew she would fight me every step of the way. Even that rejection couldn't possibly hurt as much as what I was feeling right now.

But every time I actually made a step in her direction, that boy would pop up. Jackie's brother had been sticking to my angel like glue. Maybe he thought I didn't see it but I knew the longing look in his eyes when he looked at her. After all it takes a fool in love to know one. I wanted to rip his eyes out of their sockets every time he looked at her like that but I didn't. I want her to be happy and if I couldn't do that then maybe he could. She deserved someone who didn't change into a wolf, someone who couldn't hurt her so easily, someone about who she didn't always have to wonder if he wanted to love her, someone who wouldn't bring her in danger like I would. She deserved that. She deserved the world and maybe he could offer her that.

That doesn't change the fact that I love her, I love her so much that not having her, makes me suicidal. If I thought her first rejection was unbearable, I was terribly wrong. This was way worse. She knew about imprinting now and how much I loved her and she still walked away. She didn't want me, she had told me so herself.

I saw her getting into the car with that guy. Every day I would stare at her in the hope she'd look back at me, like she did on Monday. Unfortunately she always refuses to meet my gaze. She's just so stubborn and I love that about her. I sighed loudly when the car took off and took her even further away from me.

"Damn it, Jacob! Just go talk to her."

"That's a great idea, Jared. Then I'll get to hear again how much she hates me for imprinting on her and how she doesn't want to be with me. After all I love getting shot down like that. Think for a minute, idiot!"

"He's just trying to help." Kim defended her boyfriend.

Lately I couldn't stand being around the two of them, I couldn't stand to be around any of the wolves who imprinted.. It felt as if they were constantly trying to rub their happiness in my face.

"She made it very clear that she doesn't want me to be in her life anymore. I should respect that."

"But she's your imprint."

"And that's exactly why I'll do what she wants me to do. I don't want to hurt her."

I couldn't stand to be with the pack anymore. They all looked at me with immense pity in their eyes, even Brady and he hated that I had imprinted.

"I'm going for a run."

I quickly made my way out of the parking lot. As soon as I made it to the forest, I phased. I had told Erin once that I liked being a wolf sometimes because all my worries were suddenly less important but the pain I felt from losing her was just as bad in wolf form.

I had only been running for a few minutes when I heard that familiar voice that made my heart swell.

"Adam."

I would have preferred it if it was my name coming from those heavenly lips but I was just so happy to hear her voice again after being deprived of it these last few days. She and that guy were standing too far for them to notice me now that it was starting to get darker but I could clearly see and hear everything that was happening between the two of them.

"I love you and I think I might have loved you my whole life. I would be good for you and I wouldn't hurt you like he did."

I wanted to kill him! How dare he fall in love with my imprint? She was mine! I felt a growl building up in my chest but I didn't want to scare her so I fought it from coming out.

"I know this is a lot to take in, especially now and I know you might not be ready for this but that's okay. I have patience and if you let me, I'll wait until you're ready to move on, with me."

He was slowly moving closer towards her but I don't think she noticed that. She was just staring at him in shock. Silly oblivious Erin, had she really not noticed the way he would look at her?

I had changed my mind. She wasn't allowed to move on! I couldn't bear to see her with someone else. But I couldn't stop what was happening in front of my eyes. He had gotten closer until he was almost glued to her and then he kissed her! He kissed her! I couldn't suppress the growl anymore but it came out as a painful whine. None of them seemed to notice, they were too busy making out. I couldn't watch this, I had to get out of here. I ran back to my house and phased back. I didn't want a member of the pack to see what happened in my mind.

I threw myself on my bed and crumbled down. My eyes started stinging and these pitiful sounds left my mouth. I had lost her. Erin was no longer mine. The last part of hope just died inside of me, and with that, so did the rest of me.

Erin's POV

Adam kissed me! Adam was apparently in love with me! Adam just confessed to me! This was all happening so fast, I wasn't given any time to think about this. Adam eventually pulled away and it took me a few seconds to realise it. There wasn't as much difference in temperature between the air outside and his lips. Jacob's lips were scorching and whenever he pulled away I immediately felt an uncomfortable cold.

Adam puts the hair that has fallen in my face behind my ear. Jacob knows I don't like it when he does that so instead he always puts my hair in my face to make a point. He says he prefers to see my face because he likes the way it takes his breath away.

I'm not panting either. A make-out session with Jacob always takes my breath away and then I need a moment to catch my breath again. I love the way Jacob only pants when he kisses me. He can run 10 laps around the football field effortlessly but kissing me takes his breath away.

I smile. I think Adam might take it the wrong way. I'm not smiling because he kissed me. I'm smiling because I've let my mind wander to Jacob for the first time in days. I had almost forgotten how much I love just thinking about him.

"I love you, Erin."

"I...don't."

The hopeful expression immediately left his face. I didn't want to hurt him but I couldn't lie to him about this. I had never seen this coming for a reason. I didn't think about Adam that way and I never will. There is only place in my heart for one man and it's not the one standing in front of me. He pulled back and nodded. He was taking this surprisingly well.

"You love Jacob."

"...I...do."

I hadn't given it much thought these last few days but it was true. I love Jacob. It hurts when I'm not with him and the prospect of not having him in my life at all is pure torture. I wanted him to be there, I needed him to be with me. I wanted to see that smile and know that I'm the reason it's plastered on his face. I want to feel his warm arms around me when I feel bad. No, I want them around me all the time. I want him to be mine. I need him to be because I might die if he's not.

"I love Jacob." I said stronger.

How had I not realised this any sooner? Maybe I was just too blinded by feeling like second choice that I didn't pay enough attention to it. Fuck being second choice! I don't care if that means I can have Jacob. It had seemed like the end of the world that he didn't want to imprint on me but it wasn't. Losing Jacob was the end of the world.

"You should tell him that." Adam whispered.

Oh God, Adam. In my revelation I had completely forgotten about the boy standing in front of me who I had just shot down when he told me he loved me.

"Adam, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's okay. It was a long shot anyway. I knew you loved him but I'd rather be rejected than having to wonder 'what if'."

Not even the hurt in his eyes could make me come down from the high I was on since I realised I loved Jacob. When had I turned into such a selfish bitch?

Adam ushered me to go find Jacob and I didn't think twice about it. I ran all the way to his house without pausing once. I was completely out of breath by the time I stood in front of his door. I took a moment to compose myself, then rang the doorbell. Oh no, I had rang the doorbell! What had I done? Maybe it was too late, maybe he was in there right now making out with Tara.

I freaked out during several minutes until I realised no one was coming to open the door. No, he had to be home. I don't think I'll find the courage again to tell him this. I rang the doorbell again, more confident this time but still no one opened the door. So I rang it again and again and again until finally the door opened.

Jacob was standing in the doorway with red eyes. Had he been...? No, Jacob doesn't cry. He looked very upset however and also surprised to see me standing here. I couldn't blame him for that, after all I hadn't talked to him in a week.

"Euhm...did I wake you? Were you sleeping?"

Maybe his eyes were red and slightly swollen because he had been sleeping when I rang the doorbell. It would explain why it took him so long to open the door.

"Yeah, sure."

I had missed his voice almost as much as I had missed his smile but there was something off about it. It didn't have the usual warm tone it normally does.

Now that I was standing here in front of him and he was just staring at me with zero expression on his face, I forgot what I came here for in the first place. Well, I knew why I was here but how was I supposed to tell him that? I couldn't just blurt it out, could I?

"Adam kissed me."

Apparently I could though that wasn't really what I had in mind when I thought that. His whole face tensed up and he got this hard and mean expression on his face that I had never seen on him. Yes, he still cares! I wasn't too late!

"It wasn't bad..."

Now I'm just making it worse. He was on the verge of starting to shake, I could just tell.

"...but he wasn't you."

He snapped his head up and looked at me with wide eyes.

"This whole week everyone kept telling me about how much you loved me and how much I am supposed to love you back. I don't like it when people tell me what to do or feel."

He nodded. He knows me so well.

"I don't like the imprint because it makes me feel as if you don't sincerely love me."

He was about to interrupt when I stopped him.

"No, let me finish. You can talk when I'm done but I really have to say this now. I don't like the imprint but I didn't imprint on you. What I feel for you is so real it scares me. Why should it be any different for you? I was so angry about people telling me how I'm supposed to feel that I didn't realise how I really feel. The truth is that I love you."

The way his face immediately lit up gave me enough courage to continue.

"Whether it's the imprint or not, I love you and I don't want to be apart from you again because this week was hell at its finest. I don't want that anymore. I want to be with you and I was hoping you'd still have me."

"Are you done now?"

"Yes..."

Jacob grabbed my arms and crashed his lips to mine. It was raw and desperate and by far the best kiss we've shared. I clung to him as if he would disappear if I didn't hold on tight enough. Everything I had missed in Adam's kiss, I got an overdose of in this one. There was passion, warmth and I felt as if I might pass out from the lack of oxygen but that would totally be worth it.

He tried to pull me even closer to him and I felt relieved to know he wanted to hold on as tightly to me as I did to him. I didn't want it to end but eventually Jacob pulled back and hugged me as close to his body as humanly possible. I thought I might cry when I felt his warm arms around me again and I wasn't afraid this time of being so close to him. Why had I ever been afraid in the first place? I was safe in his embrace, I was home, finally.

_So? Did you like it? Please tell me what went through your mind_


	34. Team Jacob

_Hey, thanks so much for the kick-ass reviews? You're all so awesome!_

**Chapter 34**

The moment between sleep and waking up always makes me snuggle a little closer in my pillow but today, it made me snuggle a little closer to Jacob's chest. Yep, I had spend the night in his room. Nothing happened but it was incredibly nice to wake up next to him.

Last night we talked, well he told me how much he had missed me and I in turn lathered him with kisses. So it wasn't really a conversation but it still cleared up some things for me. I no longer doubted the fact that Jacob loved me. He told me last night that the imprint shows him who's best compatible for him but he only fell in love with me once he got to know me. He also wouldn't stop saying that Bella didn't mean to him what I did, not even close. I really liked hearing that. I still had a lot of questions but I had decided they could wait. There were more important thing now, like snuggling closer to Jacob.

"Good morning." He groggily said with one eye open.

"Hi."

And then we just stared at each other with big smiles on our faces. It may seem silly to you but this was now by far my favourite morning ever, I was even in a good mood and I am definitely not a morning person.

"We should get up."

"I don't wanna." I whined.

He laughed but pulled me out of bed anyway. I was wearing one of his basketball shorts which were almost like long pants on me and one of his shirts. He had refused to let me fall asleep in my own clothes and practically forced his clothes on me. It was kind of weird because usually guys try to get a girl to take her pants off, not on.

He even made me breakfast! When I walked into the kitchen, I was met with the smell of burned toast. He may not be a great cook but it's the gesture that counts.

"I know that last night was a little sudden and...emotional. I would totally understand if you felt differently about it now."

Stupid, insecure Jacob! I don't think he will ever change.

"Why would I feel differently about it now?"

"So you still think you love me?" he beamed.

I nodded. It was still a little weird to say 'I love you' to him but at least he knew now. I wouldn't have to explicitly say it every time. He kept smiling all through breakfast and I imagined the look on his father's face if he would see his son sitting at the kitchen table like that.

"Oh my god, I totally forgot about my father. He's going to be so worried."

"It's not a problem. When you were already asleep I send a text message to your dad last night, saying you were going to spend the night with Jackie."

That was a pretty smart thing to do. My dad knew I was in a fight with Jackie so the only reason he would let me stay out of the house without warning him about it in time, would be if I was mending things with her.

"Speaking of Jackie..."

I already had a feeling where this conversation was going and for the first time since I found out about the shape-shifters, was I actually willing to try and mend things with her.

"You think I should go talk to her?"

"Yeah, she's really upset about your fight and I know you are as well."

Damn, how did he know that? Is that another part of the imprinting? Now he can also read my mood? That would come in really handy from time to time.

"That means I'm leaving right now to talk to her."

"Well, I guess it can still wait a little while." And then he pulled me towards him again.

Eventually I did have to leave Jacob's house because I was mortified to run into Billy. I was now making my way over to Jackie's house. She's either here or at Embry's. There is no way I'm going to ring the Call doorbell so she better be home. I obviously hadn't thought this one through because when I rang the bell, Adam opened the door. Awkward...

"Euhm...hi."

"Hey."

And then there was silence. What do you say to the guy who told you he was in love with you, kissed you and gave you the realisation that you were in love with someone else? Has anyone even experienced that? Maybe they could have helped me right now.

"Did you talk to Jacob yesterday?"

I nodded. I didn't think he'd want to hear how I pretty much told Jacob kissing Adam was just no good.

"That's good. So everything is okay between the two of you now?"

"Yes, but Adam..."

"Don't worry about it, Erin. This doesn't have to be awkward. The better guy got you but at least now I can't blame myself for not giving it a shot when I had the chance."

He was taking this surprisingly well. Not that I wanted him to mope around about it but that would have been an ego boost. Not that I need that anymore now that the hottest guy in la Push is mine once again.

"I'm sure you didn't come all the way to hear me say this. So does this mean you are finally willing to hear what Jackie has to say?"

"Yes, is she home?"

"She's in her room."

Making my way over to the last door in the hallway, I didn't pay attention to the voices coming from behind her door. Instead I practically burst into the room to come upon a sight I really didn't want to see. Jackie was sitting on her bed with Embry and they were both half naked and making out. Jackie was only wearing her bra and panties and Embry was shirtless but that's not really such an unusual sight.

"Bad timing?"

"Erin!"

Jackie immediately pushed Embry off her and tried to cover her up by pulling the blanket over her but it failed miserably. Embry was sprawled out on the floor right now and just looking at me without any hint of embarrassment.

"Fancy seeing you here, Erin."

I rolled my eyes. He wasn't very good at playing it nonchalant.

"I came to talk to Jackie."

Embry gave me this suspicious look as if I was going to kill his girlfriend the minute he walked out of the room but he was silenced by Jackie's look. Eventually he sighed, got up and left the room.

"Does you coming here mean you've finally forgiven me?" she asked me hopefully.

"I came because there's something I... I'm sorry but could you please put some clothes on. This is awkward enough without you being half naked."

She had the decency to blush at least and quickly pulled the nearest shirt on. I don't think she realised it was Embry's.

"I talked to Jacob last night."

"Really? What did you guys say to each other? Is everything alright now? That would be so great then we can finally start working on integrating you in the pack! You'll love them all, it takes some getting used to them but once you do, they-"

"Shut up! And get away from the door, Embry! This is a private conversation." I yelled after I heard a growl coming from the other side of Jackie's bedroom when I had told Jackie to shut up.

"Sorry. Please just tell me the story."

"Okay, so it started with Adam kissing me."

"Excuse me! Adam kissed you! Why?"

"Because apparently your brother is in love with me."

"Ieuw, that's so gross. Then again, you would become my sister-in-law and we'd be real family. Oh, but that would mean you can't be with your imprint and as much as I want my brother to be happy, I am definitely team Jacob."

"Are you done? Can I continue the story? Thank you. So as I said, Adam kissed me and that made me realise that I don't want anyone else but Jacob."

"Oh, jeej! That's great. That's amazing! It's the best news-"

"Jackie, focus! Please!"

"Woops, sorry."

"Anyway, I went to Jacob after that and I told him I loved him-"

"Oh my god! You told him that! That's a big step, Erin. Yesterday during school you wouldn't even look at him and I was afraid you'd..."

There was just no stopping her. Every time my mouth said a few words, a whole waterfall came out of hers.

"...And now you've finally admitted to yourself and Jacob what all of us have known since the beginning. I am so happy for you. Everything is going to work out great from now on, you'll see."

"Sooooo, then we talked and I guess now that we've talked about it, imprinting doesn't sound that bad anymore."

"Not that bad? It's the best thing that could have happened to you. It definitely is the best that happened to me."

"Can Embry still hear us? Are you saying those things because he'll beat you up if you don't?"

"Erin, be serious. I love Embry in the same amazing way that you love Jacob. You better start getting used to people talking like that because the entire pack talks about their imprints like that."

"Did the entire pack imprint?"

"No, just a few. It's supposed to be rare but already five people imprinted."

"Who?"

"Now that you're officially part of the pack, I guess you're allowed in on all the pack secrets. Do you want a cookie during it?"

For the rest of the morning I listened to Jackie tell me everything that ever happened to the pack. She told me about Sam imprinting on Emily while he was still dating her cousin, Leah, who was now a member of the pack since her father died and she became a shape-shifter. That story made me once again see the down side of imprinting. She told me about Kim having a crush on Jared her whole life and when he phased and looked at her, imprinted. And finally Kim's unanswered love turned into a great fairytale. That story was much nicer and made me see the amazing side of imprinting. Then she told me that Quil had an imprint. Her name is Claire and she's two years old. Talk about being a paedophile. Jackie did explain to me that he didn't love her in that way yet. He would eventually but now he was like a big brother to her. No matter what she said, I was still grossed out by it. That was the fucked up side of imprinting.

But of course more things happen to the pack than imprinting. Like Jacob had already told me, the pack kills vampires but there is apparently an exception to the rule. There is a coven-which is a pack in the vampire world- that lives in Forks. They call themselves vegetarians because they don't drink human blood but hunt animals instead. They made some sort of deal with the tribe elders years and years ago when we weren't even born yet and now the pack can't chase them as long as they don't come on La Push territory, don't kill humans and don't turn any into vampires. Apparently this Edward guy is a part of that 'coven' and that's what's causing a lot of trouble in the supernatural world. Jackie told me that Bella wants to become a vampire after she married Edward and that is against the treaty. The girl is choosing herself to become one so the pack is not sure if they should interfere. That girl must be messed up in the head! Who would want to become one of those all destructing things? Why would she even fall in love with one of them?

I didn't want to let my mind wander once again to Bella so I asked her a question I had wanted answered a long time ago.

"What's an alpha? Emily said no one can tell someone about the pack unless they get permission from Sam. Is he like the boss?"

"Yeah exactly. He may not be the alpha through bloodline but he was the first one to phase on the reservation so he took the role of alpha. That means he can use his alpha voice."

"Alpha voice? What's that? Is that like his superpower?"

"Not really. If he uses that certain voice to give orders to the pack, they can't disobey him."

Wow, talk about authority.

"Did Jacob tell you he's the original alpha?"

What? No, he most definitely did not. Isn't that boy ever going to learn that it's so much better to just tell me everything from the start?

"I'm guessing he didn't? It's not such a big deal really. His grandfather was the alpha of the previous pack and that means Jacob has alpha blood in him. If he wanted to, he could demand Sam's place in the pack but he won't do that."

Thank god! It's already so weird I'm dating a shape-shifter and I don't think that would have been any easier if he was also the shape-shifter's leader.

"I think that's pretty much the most important stuff. There will still be things you don't know but I'll explain it when we get there. That is, if you'll let me."

I hadn't really told her I am going to forgive her but it was just so much fun to see the fear in her eyes. But I will put her out of her misery.

"You really hurt me when you kept something big like that from me, especially when you knew I was eventually going to be a part of it. But I do understand now that it wasn't really your place to tell and I think I would have taken it even worse if it was you telling me all that. So I forgive you and we can go back to being friends but I still get to bring it up in fights.."

Her screech was deafening and her hug was breathtaking, not in the good way.

_I know a lot of people wanted Erin to stay mad at Jackie but she just missed her friend so much. There are just people you can't stay mad at, no matter how hard you want to. Aside from that, I still want to know what you thought of the chapter so please review! Thank you so much :D_


	35. Lying once, twice, lots of times

_The situation of the story is after Bella's graduation and when the new year already started. It's now November or something. Bella and Edward are just married and on their honeymoon. I know that happens sooner than in the books but it just works better for this story that way. Thanks so much for all the reviews, they make my day and the inspiration for future chapters. Please feel free to review again :D_

**Chapter 35**

Life was good! Me and Jackie were friends again, Bryan's time to get the truck was finally over and I could drive myself to school, Tara totally got her hopes crushed, again, when I walked in the hallways hand in hand with her dream guy who also happens to be my dream guy, things weren't totally awkward with Adam and the best thing was: I had Jacob!

For the first time since I went to high school was I happy that news travelled fast. Now that most girls were aware that Jacob was no longer single, they backed off with the exception of Tara. Although she filled her days now with Paul in the back of her car.

Talking about Paul Lahote: he hates my guts. I don't know why but every time he's around me, he tries to glare me all the way to hell. Jacob says Paul just doesn't like it that Jacob imprinted on me but there has got to be something more to it than that. Jackie told me not to let it get under my skin, that after all this time he's still mean to Kim and she's his best friend's imprint.

"So I was thinking I could come by your house after school until 6 o'clock because I've got patrol afterwards." Jacob said when he walked me back to class after lunch.

I was about the nod my consent when I realised something. Jacob couldn't come over to my house, my dad would be there. My dad who didn't even know I was dating Jacob, who didn't even know I hung out with him because my dad had made me promise I wouldn't. Oh fuck, I am screwed.

"Is that okay?"

"No! I mean I don't think that's such a good idea. I have a lot of homework to catch up with since I didn't do any of it last week."

"I could help you with your homework."

"Still not a great idea."

"You might be right. After all I would just distract you with my awesomeness."

I rolled my eyes at that but couldn't help but smile a little. Me finally accepting the imprint had made Jacob more confident than I had ever seen him. It would get on my nerves sometimes but mostly I kind of liked it.

I was going to tell my father tonight. He was going to leave in half an hour so his rant couldn't be too long. He was sitting in the living room, drinking a beer and watching TV.

"Dad?"

"Hey Erin. How was school today?"

"It was okay but there is something I have to tell you."

"Is everything alright? You look a bit pale. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

I won't be for long though. I know my dad well enough to say he's going to get angry and probably ground me, even if I didn't really do anything wrong.

"Would it be okay if I stayed over at Jackie's tonight?"

That's not what I wanted to say to him at all. Jackie wasn't even home tonight so if he says yes I'll have to sleep outside.

"I don't think tonight is the best moment for it. I have to work in twenty minutes and I don't like Bryan being all alone at night. You'll have to find another date to do that. Sorry honey."

I told him that was okay and I went up to my room. How hard can it be to tell my dad I'm dating Jacob Black? This is ridiculous. It's too late to tell him now, I heard the front door close a few minutes ago. But I guess it can wait a little longer. I'll tell him tomorrow.

As soon as I pulled into the school's parking lot, Jacob rushed towards me and pulled me into a bone crushing hug that I loved.

"Were you able to survive without me around last night?"

"Yes, just fine. In fact I kind of liked the break from you." I teased him but apparently he didn't see it that way.

"Oh."

He sounded really depressed all of the sudden. Doesn't he know I was just joking around? Of course I missed him but that's something I'm not really willing to let him know. He's already turning me into a complete sap and that would just make it worse.

"Are you okay, Jacob? I was just teasing you."

"I knew that."

But his voice obviously betrayed that he didn't. Maybe he can't stand it when I tease him like that but that's what I do. I tease people to show them that they matter to me. I could of course pay more attention to it when I'm around Jacob oooooorrr he could just get used to it. I'm going for the latter. After all he's supposed to love me for who I am, inappropriate teasing included.

"Did you get all your homework done?"

"Yes. It wasn't as much as I thought it would be."

"That's great. Then I can come over today after school and the best part is, I don't have patrol today." He smiled at me.

"Euhm...I don't think today is such a good day for that."

"Why not?"

What was I supposed to answer him? I haven't told my dad we're dating because he practically forbid me to hang out with you? That doesn't seem like the best thing to tell him.

"My brother is sick. I don't want you catching his germs." I made up.

"That's not going to happen. I don't get sick, remember? But maybe you shouldn't be around him if he's that sick. I don't want you to catch his germs either."

"Well... I also don't get sick easily so don't worry about me. Still, Bryan is going to be throwing up and that's not really something you want to be around. We'll do that some other time."

He said it was okay but he was clearly disappointed.

That evening I made another attempt in telling my father about my new boyfriend. Unfortunately he made his proud face at me without realising it and I just couldn't bring myself to let him down, not tonight. So instead I let him leave for work without telling him what I really needed him to know and I washed the dishes.

"Do you still hang out with that Jacob Black?"

Why the hell would Bryan ask me such a thing? Oh my god, Bryan! He goes to school with me and could have seen me with Jacob. He would tell dad and then I'd be grounded while it really should be me telling dad this.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because the guy looked at me strangely today."

Was that it? Jacob probably doesn't like my brother because I keep using fighting with Bryan as an excuse for my lousy moods.

"And then he asked me why I was at school. He said I was supposed to be home. He also asked me if I was feeling okay. That's a weird dude, sis."

Damn it! Jacob knew I had been lying to him today. Then why didn't he confront me about it?

A normal person would have gone up to Jacob the next day and tell him why they kept making excuses and then they would go home and finally tell their father they were dating Jacob. But of course I'm not a normal person and made it way more difficult than it should be. Instead I did the complete opposite thing. Every day for the rest of the week I would make up excuses for Jacob not to come to my house and I was eventually running out of them. I had already used 'You can't come over. I won't be there, I have to go to the dog school with Ash' even though the closest dog school is in Seattle, 'Today is no good, my grandparents are coming over for dinner' even though all my grandparents had died years ago and 'You won't have fun because my period will start tonight'. Yeah, I actually used that one. It was the only thing I could come up with at the end of the week that would make him not want to come.

"Emily want to organise a bonfire for you where we tell the legends since you haven't been to one yet. She says it is necessary because it's sort of the inauguration of imprints. I don't know why she's making such a big deal about it but, will you come?"

"Sure, when is it?"

He looked a bit surprised that I said yes. He may have expected me to come up with a lame excuse again. He knew I was lying and I knew that he knew that but still we both pretended as if that was not the case.

"Saturday night. I'll come pick you up."

"That's okay. I can get a ride from Jackie that way you don't have to make a detour."

Before he could argue with the arrangement and I knew he would, I quickly took a turn into my classroom. Okay, that's it! Before Saturday night I have to tell my dad, else I never will. I sat down next to Jackie and was already thinking in my head how I would break the news to my father.

"Why do you keep blowing off Jacob like that?"

"What-? I-I don't know what you mean." I stammered.

"Oh, really? I give you exhibit A: all your grandparents are dead so it would be really hard to have a family dinner with them. Exhibit B: Ash doesn't go to a dog school, if he did you would actually be able to keep him on a leash. Exhibit C: Bryan was in school on Tuesday even though you told Jacob he was sick at home. Exhibit D: You had your period last week so it's just not possible that you'll have them again tonight. And last but not least, exhibit E: You have never blown off anything to make your homework, why would you start now?"

"And your point is?"

"That you've been making up these awful excuses to prevent Jacob from spending an evening with you. My question is why? I thought everything was finally solved between the two of you?"

"It is. There's just this...I haven't told my dad that I'm dating Jacob yet. He can't come at my house if my dad doesn't know that."

"Why don't you just tell your dad then? Your dad adores you and Jacob is definitely a good catch so why are you so reluctant to tell your father?"

"Jacob already came to my house once, before he and I were even friends. He met my dad and afterwards dad told me he didn't like guys like Jacob around me. He also wanted me to promise him to not hang out with Jacob anymore."

"Wow, you actually went in against what your father wanted? Usually you think his orders are God's words. I don't think I can even remember a time where you actually went in against your father."

"That's because I never have, until now."

"Okay, now I understand better why you don't want to tell your father but could you really not come up with better excuses to tell Jacob? They sucked."

I lightly punched her on the shoulder. That was so not the important part of the conversation.

"Why don't you just tell Jacob he can't come because you're too chicken to tell your father you're dating? But you might want to rephrase that."

"I can't. Jacob always takes everything to heart and I don't want him to think I'm ashamed of him."

"That makes sense. But you'll have to tell your father eventually."

"I know! I've decided I'll do it on Saturday."

"Good."

Of course I didn't tell her that I had decided to tell him every day for the past week and just couldn't do it. I didn't want her to feel the need to meddle with the situation. I can handle it, at least I think I can.

I was up in my room, wondering when the best moment would be to tell my dad when the doorbell rang. I didn't pay much attention to it until I heard a loud voice coming from the hallway, one I knew very well. I quickly got out of my room and stopped in the middle of the stairs when I saw Jacob standing in front of my father.

"Hello Sir, my name is Jacob Black. We've met before."

"I don't remember." My father responded harshly but we all knew he did, else he wouldn't react like that.

"I've come to ask you something. I would like the permission to go out with your daughter."

I'm pretty sure my mouth just fell open. How can he say something like that to my dad? How can he say something like that at all? What century did he think we lived in? Nevertheless I can't believe Jacob would do this for me, that's probably the sweetest thing he's done. Although that might be wrong. There was also the time he bought me a car because he thought my truck was dangerous, or the time he randomly bought me this amazing necklace or the time he got mad at my brother because my fight with Bryan had upset me, or when he picked me up in the middle of the night to ride through La Push looking for my dog. Wow, that boy really is too good for me.

"You want to date my daughter?"

Jeez dad, don't sound too surprised. Boys do notice me, well that boy notices me. At least he noticed me sitting on the staircase. He gave me a small smile and then turned his attention back to my dad.

"Yes, I love your daughter and I know your approval means a lot to her, so I would like to have it. If you don't that's too bad but I'll still go out with her. She's too important to me"

My dad was almost red by now. I don't think he found Jacob's words nice to hear, I however couldn't disagree more.

"Get out of my house!"

"Sir-"

"And leave my daughter alone!"

Jacob eventually left the house and only then did my father notice my presence in the hall way. I slowly got up and walked downstairs.

"Are you dating that boy? Didn't I tell you not to be around him? Why don't you listen? Couldn't you find yourself a nice boy who doesn't look like he should have danger tattooed on his face? Am I really asking that much-"

"I'm sorry dad but you'll have to wait. I'll be right back."

I quickly sprinted to the front door before my father could stop me and ran towards the figure walking away from my house.

"Jacob!"

He turned around and looked surprised to see me. Or that's what I thought. Instead he seemed more concerned about my health.

"Where is your coat? You're going to catch a cold like that, get back inside!"

I rolled my eyes at this but couldn't help but being touched by his concern for my wellbeing.

"I just wanted to say thank you for telling those things to my dad. I'm guessing Jackie's tongue slipped?"

He nodded as if he was afraid I would get angry at Jackie and therefore him. This was actually one of those rare moments Jackie's meddling had a good result.

"I'm really grateful that you told my dad."

"Well, Jackie said you couldn't do it yourself and he'll eventually have to meet me since I'm going to be with you forever."

I don't understand how he can say it so casually while those words made my heart flutter.

"Yeah he'll just have to be okay with it."

"Is everything good now? Your dad is not too angry, is he?"

"Oh no, he is. I'm sure he'll ground me now."

"I guess that means you won't be able to come tomorrow night at the bonfire?"

"That's the definition of grounded but I could always just go anyway. He's not even home then."

"I could never ask you to do that."

"You don't have to ask. Besides it will totally be worth it."

_I've come to the realisation that it's so much nicer to see the writer thank you personally for the reviews so I'm going to start doing that: I want to thank __**Zoexclaire, Happy2BeeMe, kikikiki, kristie310, gawjesgrl190, Luli Cullen, secretprincess, angel057, DarkFlame Alchemist, hollywoodab and Akuish. **__I think that's all. Thank you!_


	36. The next step for you and me

_Woohoo! 300 reviews! Thank you so much to everyone who ever reviewed!__Thank you _**Dreamcatcher94, dstj1432, Luli Cullen, happinie93, Gloo1997, kikikiki, Jelly-Bean-Jr, secretprincess, Tinkerbell-Lover-Ms-Write-It, frostinglolo and Yeakylver**_. You were all an inspiration for the this chapter Hope you like it! I do..._

**Chapter 36**

My dad was indeed angry and he had tried to ground me. Fortunately Bryan made him realise he couldn't really ground me for something like that. It was strange to hear my brother siding with me for once but he completely blew my newfound respect for him by saying every girl went through the phase of dating a bad boy and then he emphasised that Jacob definitely belonged in that category because he saw him beat up a guy a few days ago. That was so not fair! My brother didn't know the only reason Jacob got angry at that guy –he was just angry and didn't really beat him up- was because the boy had said some nasty thing about me. I don't even remember what it was anymore.

Thanks to my lovely brother's help my father is convinced that I'm just going through a phase and that I'll dump Jacob in no time. I didn't have the heart to tell him otherwise. He'll find out eventually.

It was finally Saturday evening and Jackie was going to pick me up in a few minutes while I was still standing in my room deciding on what I should wear. I had been planning to wear a simple jeans and sweatshirt until Jackie told me this was a very big deal for the pack. She told me I wasn't allowed in her car if I didn't look my best.

Eventually I decided not to overdo it since it is just a bonfire and wore dark skinny jeans with a fancier red top. It would just have to do. When the doorbell rang, I quickly got out of the house before Bryan could get downstairs.

"Good, you took my advice. I was already afraid you were going to show up in sweats."

"Haha, will you just drive?"

It had already gotten dark which made us clearly see the bonfire from our parking spot. When we walked onto the beach, I was surprised there were already so many people. The entire pack was there with the exception of Collin and Quil who had to patrol. They would get here as soon as Paul and Seth took over their shift. I could see Emily and Kim loading food out of their cars. That's a good thing I'm sure if Jacob's apatite was also something that came with being a shape-shifter. I do think they exaggerated. Emily brought enough food to feed an army.

I hadn't noticed Jackie had left my side to help Emily and Kim unload the truck and when I finally did I wasn't given the time to look for her. I felt two warm arms surround my waist and unless it's a common thing for the pack to hug the imprints like that, I have a fairly good idea of who those arms belong to.

"Hey beautiful, I'm glad you came. Does this mean your father will come over later and try to shoot me with his bazooka?"

"I don't think my dad owns one and I am allowed to be here. I'm not grounded."

"Really? I thought the man was beside himself with rage."

"He realised it's stupid to ground me just because he doesn't like my choice in boyfriends though he is convinced now that you're just a part of my bad ass phase."

"He thinks you being bad ass is a phase?"

"Yeah, go figure." I smiled at him.

It was nice to have somewhat of a light conversation with Jacob for a change. Usually our relationship is all about disapproving fathers, bad relationship history or soul mate issues.

"Come on, I want you to meet someone."

"Who? I already met the entire pack."

"Yes but there aren't just shape-shifter here tonight. The tribe elders are dying to meet my imprint."

He had started pulling me towards three figures who stood closer to the fire than most people but I stopped him.

"Elders?"

"You know: Sue Clearwater, Quil Areata Senior and-"

"-Your father!"

"Yeah, my dad as well."

"You want me to meet your dad?"

"Yes. Is that a problem?"

Was he only now picking up the panicking tone in my voice?

"Of course it is. What if he doesn't like me?"

"He will love you. After all you're the most amazing person I've ever met."

"That's what I thought about you yet my father still managed to find a great dislike for you."

He just laughed at my comment and steered me towards the elders including the man in the wheelchair.

"Erin, this is Sue, Old Quil and my dad, Billy Black."

The woman had this typical mother's vibe around her and I'm just not good with those kind of people. She smiled at me and then pulled me into a hug. What is it with all these people wanting to hug me? I'm sure she and Emily get along just fine. Old Quil was a typical grumpy kind of grandfather who was mumbling a greeting under his breath. Now he's more my kind of people. And Billy Black was a typical... I don't think there is a type for him. He had long black hair that most Quileute people do, he had this awesome hat on his head and his smile seemed to be permanently stuck on his face. Now at least I know where Jacob gets that.

"It's very nice to finally meet you, Erin. My son has nothing but kind words for you."

I shook Billy Black's hand but couldn't think of anything to say to that man. I guess I was a little intimidated with the fact that this was Jacob's father.

"Hey Jacob, could you lend me a hand?" Sam asked.

"Sure."

Before Jacob could get over to Sam, I clung to his arm and pulled him back.

"Where are you going? You can't leave me alone here!"

"Relax. You're acting as if I'm asking you to babysit a giant dragon."

"Can I have that option instead?"

He just laughed at me and told me I would be fine before he left. Oh, he was going to pay for leaving me like this later on. I turned back to the elders and noticed that only Billy was still there. Great, now I'll certainly make a fool out of myself.

"Do you know the legends, Erin?"

"Well, I've learned about them in school and Embry gave me a book about them to read."

"That's not the same. You haven't heard the legends until you've heard them being told by Billy." A young boy said who came up out of nowhere.

That must be Collin or Brady or maybe someone else I hadn't met before. The entire pack just looks so much alike with the exception of Jacob. They got into a conversation which I couldn't follow at all. Jacob's dad tried his best to include me in it but eventually I just told him I was going to see if I could help Emily with something. I found her setting up a table full of food although some of the guys had already started taking food from it before it was completely set up.

"Do you need some help with that?"

"Oh hey. No, I'm almost done but I was hoping I'd get a chance to talk to you today. I wanted to apologise for what I said the other day. I was out of line and I'm really sorry for all the trouble I created between you and Jacob."

"You don't have to apologise. I'm actually glad you were that honest with me. Now I've had the chance to be angry about it and get it out of my system."

"Oh okay, if that's the case I'm not sorry."

I liked Emily and her honesty. She seemed like a person who couldn't tell a lie and felt bad about it if she did. She also gave me the idea that she acted as the mother of the pack. I'm sure they need that. Now that I wasn't busy being angry at Jackie or freaking out about the whole Bella situation, I paid more attention to her face. It was much harder now not to stare at the three long lines adorning her beautiful face.

"Auntie Emie, Qwuil not back yet?"

This little girl had come up to Emily and was clinging to her leg. For a moment I thought she could be her daughter due to the similarity and the motherly way she picked up the little girl. But then I remembered she had called Emily her aunt.

"He's on patrol right now but I'm sure he'll be back any moment."

Only then did the girl notice me standing next to her aunt. She seemed a bit shy I thought but apparently that shyness didn't have any control over her mouth.

"Who are you?"

"That's Erin. I told you she would be here tonight, remember?"

"You Jacob's special fwiend!" She screamed out.

She seemed even more excited about Jacob imprinting on me than Jackie. Her whole face immediately lit up and she looked very proud of herself that she had realised who I was. I just didn't understand why she called me Jacob's special friend. It makes it sound as if we're friends with benefits. Emily explained to me that the girl was too young to fully grasp the concept of imprinting so they explained it to her as a 'special friend'. Only then did I realise the girl was probably Quil's imprint, the two year old Claire because she seems to be a bit too young to be a member of the tribe council or shape-shifter.

"I'm Claire and I'm Qwuil's special fwiend." She told me proudly.

I had to admit the little girl was adorable and I'm not really one to coo over little children. Suddenly the girl started trashing around in Emily's arms and when she finally put the little girl down, Claire ran as fast as a two year old could to the tree line nearby where she launched herself in Quil's arms. When I'd first heard about him imprinting on such a young girl, I had found it disgusting but there was nothing gross about the way he treated her. The entire evening he gave her piggyback rides, stole all the candy that she wanted for her and carried her around whenever she was too tired to walk. He acted more like the world's greatest babysitter than the man who'd eventually spend the rest of his life with her.

"You're alive! My father didn't eat you!" Jacob exclaimed when he sat down next to me on the log during dinner.

"Very funny."

"Was it really that bad?"

"Yes! I didn't have anything to say to your father and eventually I just bailed."

"You must have done something right because he wanted me to ask if you'd like to have dinner at our house tomorrow night."

"What! Why?"

"Because you're my imprint and he wants to get to know you better."

"What makes you think I'll actually be able to keep up a conversation then?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll be the there too, remember?"

"Oh, that's right. But what if you leave the room for a moment? What if you have to pee?"

"I promise I'll hold it in for you."

"Really?"

"Yes."

We have such romantic conversations though that did make me laugh. What a weird promise to make.

"You know, you worrying about making a good impression on my dad is actually really adorable."

"Not it isn't."

We couldn't bicker any further because Billy Black called everyone's attention for the legends. During the stories, Jacob had pulled me into his side and made circles with his fingers on my knees but I was too focused on the legends to pay much attention to it. This was indeed way better than reading or learning about them in class. The way Billy Black told them, made me feel as if I was living them myself.

"So what did you think?" Jacob whispered in my ear once the legends were told.

"Amazing. You're father is a great story teller."

"Yeah, I noticed that you were completely sucked into the world of our legends."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Absolutely nothing."

He pulled me even a little closer to him and I think he might have even sniffed my hair. A few weeks ago that would have freaked me out but I think Jacob could cut off a lock of hair to keep in a jar and I'd still find it endearing now. Being imprinted on apparently messes with your mind, a lot.

Eventually it was starting to get late and I had promised my father I'd be home before midnight. Jackie didn't seem to have any intention to leave and why would she? Her parents are hardly ever home so she has no one to go home for. I asked Jacob to drive me home instead and he happily obliged. When he pulled into my drive way, he stopped me when I tried to get out of the car.

"I want to ask you something."

"Okay, what is it?"

"I don't want you to feel obligated to tell me but it's something that has been a lot on my mind lately. Remember the first time I came to your house?"

I nodded.

"I asked you a question about your mother and you completely shut down. I've never heard you talk about her and I was just wondering what the story was."

To be honest, I had completely forgotten that Jacob didn't know about her. I had just assumed Jackie would have told him that along with all my embarrassing secrets. I turned my head towards him. It's not like I don't want him to know, after all he's told me all his secrets even though he had to phase in front of me for that to happen. I sighed. I was after all the one promoting honesty nowadays.

"My mother and my dad always fought. I don't remember a time where they didn't. One evening the bomb just burst and she left. I haven't seen or talked to her ever since."

He was silent for a moment. I thought he was thinking of something to say or maybe he just wanted me to keep talking. There wasn't really that much to say about it. It all happened such a long time ago.

"I'm sorry. I can't imagine anyone leaving you behind. Who wouldn't want to spend every moment of every day with you?"

"Believe it or not I don't think anyone wants that."

"I do."

I smiled. He's just so cute!

"Do you miss her?"

"Not really. I don't miss her but I do feel like I've missed out on a lot of things by not having a mother. She wasn't a good mother when she was still around so it's not really such a big loss I think. My dad and Bryan think that's kind of cruel of me to say."

"I don't think it is. It might be better to not have mother than a bad one. She might just have corrupted you and I for one am glad she didn't get the chance to do that. I love you just the way you are."

"I think you might be the only person who thinks that."

"So what?"

"But you're also the only person whose opinion matters."

I kissed him goodnight and waved him off when he pulled out the driveway. I was actually relieved he had asked me about it. I don't usually talk about her, mainly because she doesn't matter all that much to me. When I couldn't see his car anymore, I went to bed. I kind of wished he was with me here right now. I already miss him.

_A lot of people review my story and that makes me sooooo happy but there are a few people who reviewed this story frequently and I think they have the right to be mentioned so here it goes. My biggest thank yous goes to __**secretprincess, happinie93, Dreamcatcher94, hollywoodab**__ and the one who reviewed the most with 39 reviews: __**kikikiki**__! (yep, I counted) Thank you so much! I'd say keep up the good work_


	37. Having you is indescribable

_Thank you very much for all the reviews Luli Cullen, Dreamcatcher94, kikikiki, happinie93, Gloo1997, Zoexclaire, Valkyrie Shadow, jblc77, dstj1432, angel057, AngelHeartFantasy12, gawjesgrl190 and secretprincess. I don't know exactly how many chapters there will still be but I've still got a lot of things in my mind that I want to happen in the story. Just because they're really together now, without the lies, doesn't mean nothing will happen anymore. I'm certainly not going to stop before chapter 50. _

**Chapter 37**

I had a hard time falling asleep and decided to read a book to get sleepy. It was working and I felt my eyes start to droop before I shot up after hearing a noise coming from my yard. I thought it might be Ash so didn't think too much of it. I put the book away, I wasn't going to be reading a lot anymore anyway. I turned the lights off and crawled back in my bed. Suddenly I could feel this presence in my room that hadn't been here at first. I might have had a little panic attack. Now that I knew there were things like vampires in the world, my house felt a lot less safe. I peeked from underneath my blanket and saw a dark figure standing at my window.

"Jacob! Don't do that, I thought you were some kind of mass murderer!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Scoot over."

I was still a little shaken up but made room for him on my bed.

"You do know we have a front door, right?"

"I am aware but this is just so much more fun."

"Oh yeah, nothing beats scaring the hell out of the poor little girl in her room."

"Poor little girl? Don't tell me you're a closet coward!" He teased.

I just snorted and snuggled a little closer against Jacob. As much as I was a little scared my dad might find us like this, it was nice to just lie in Jacob's arms. It made me feel a lot safer than I did a few minutes ago.

"What are you doing here anyway? I thought you were going home or back to the bonfire." I mumbled.

"I'm hurt. Are you not happy to see me?"

"Of course I am, I was just in need of a pillow."

"Yep, that's why I'm here."

I don't know when it happened but suddenly our relationship seemed to be less hard. I remember Jackie telling me being with Embry was as easy as breathing. Maybe it would be the same between the two of us?

"Goodnight." Jacob whispered and I tried to mumble something similar back but I was already on my way to the land of dreams.

When I woke up there was this sound ringing in my ear that usually isn't there in my room. I tried to swat it away but I hit something really hard instead. I opened my eyes to see what I had hit and saw a sleeping boy sprawled on my bed. Oh damn, Jacob hadn't left last night. He must have fallen asleep.

I quickly glanced at the clock on my bedside. It read 8:55. That means my dad would come wake me up in 5 minutes! He's going to have a heart attack if he finds Jacob in my bed. The boy has to leave. I thought I would just wake him and he'd quickly jump out of the window and that would be it but apparently it's not that easy to wake a sleeping shape-shifter. I tried everything: I tried to shake him, yelled in his ear, tickled his toes but nothing! It was as if he was in a coma!

"Erin, are you up?" I could hear my father's voice coming from downstairs.

Shit, now I can hear him coming up the stairs. In my final desperation I pushed Jacob out of my bed and on the ground.

"Auw, what was that for?"

"Shut up and don't move!"

"Are you okay, Erin?"

"Just peachy, dad!"

My dad couldn't see Jacob since he was on the other side of the bed. I just prayed my dad wouldn't walk into my room but stay in the doorway instead.

"Were you talking to someone? I thought I heard voices."

"I was just...talking to Andy! Yeah, he called me to ask what to wear on his big date today." I lied trough my teeth.

"Oh, then what was that thud I heard?"

"I fell out of bed. I...I had a nightmare."

"Are you okay, sweetheart? What was your nightmare about?"

"I'm fine. I can't even remember what it was about anyway. I was actually going to get dressed so would you mind...?"

"Oh, sure. Breakfast is ready, Bryan went over to Nathan's and I'm leaving in 10 minutes."

Finally my dad left my room and I could breathe again. I turned back to Jacob who was still lying on the floor with a big grin on his face.

"I can't believe your dad bought that. You are a terrible liar."

"Well, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have to lie to him. What is up with your dead like state anyway? I could have been drilling a whole next to your head and you'd still be sleeping like a baby."

"I don't know. I'm usually pretty easy to wake up but I just slept so good tonight."

"I'm glad someone appreciated my mattress." I said with sarcasm dripping from my voice.

"Believe me, it wasn't the mattress I was enjoying."

And then he winked at me. What is up with the over flirting lately? Does he actually believe I like that sort of stuff?

"Now get out of my room."

"Why? Didn't you just say you were going to undress? I think I might just stay a little longer for that."

"Out! Pervert!"

"Fine, but I'm only going downstairs."

"What? No, no, you have to leave, as in out the window and to your own house."

"Relax, didn't you just hear your dad? There is no one at the house except the two of us and I for one, can't wait to see what you eat for breakfast."

He was about to leave my room when I stopped him. I just had to accept that he wasn't going anywhere until he got what he wanted which was breakfast right now. But I don't want to risk my dad catching Jacob in our kitchen so I called my dad but there was no response. I looked left and right, in the bathroom, Bryan's room and eventually the kitchen.

"Okay, you can leave my room now."

"Not that I didn't love this little display of mission impossible, but don't you think you're a little exaggerating?"

"No father and I do mean honestly no father wants to see a half-naked man coming out of his child's room."

"My dad doesn't mind."

I raised my eyebrow at him and it took a few seconds for him to understand what he had implied.

"Oh no, I didn't mean it like that. I don't have half-naked guys coming out of my room...or half-naked girls. There are just no half-naked people coming out of my room. Also no completely naked people, just so we're clear."

"I got it the first time, Jacob."

"I just don't want you to think that I'm the kind of guy who sleeps around."

"I know you're not."

"What's that supposed to mean? You think I couldn't sleep around if I wanted to, because I could. I'll let you know I have had plenty-"

"It's in your best interest that you don't finish that sentence. You're making things way worse than they were."

"Right, I'm going to shut up now."

"Good idea."

I sat at the table with Jacob across from me. It was a bit strange that he seemed so interested in every bite that I took out of my pancake but surprisingly enough I got used to it. We kind of joked around during breakfast and eventually time just passes much faster when I'm around Jacob. I hadn't realised it was already noon until the doorbell rang.

"Hi Erin. What are your plans for today?"

"She's spending today and every other day of her life with me so find another victim, Jackie!" Jacob yelled from the kitchen.

"Don't monopolize my best friend! I knew her first so I get the rights."

The rights? To me? Who would want that? I decided to let them bicker a little more while I went into the living room to watch some TV. It was raining outside, like usual so I didn't feel like doing something out of the comfort of my warm and dry home.

"Your boyfriend is being a pain in the butt, Erin. He doesn't want to leave."

"Yeah, it sucks being on that side, doesn't it?"

Jacob smiled widely and threw his arm around me when he joined me on the couch. He thought I didn't see it but I could tell from the corner of my eye that he was making a victory face at Jackie.

"And don't you usually spend the weekends with Embry?"

"On the contrary of popular believe I don't spend all my time with Embry!"

"He's on patrol." Jacob smiled.

"Yeah! And I'm bored out of my mind!"

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"I want to hang out, without annoying Jacob!"

"Hey! You were the one who barged in uninvited." He defended.

"Can I just remind you that I didn't actually invite you to sleep in my bed last night." I retorted.

Jackie stared at us with open mouth. I could already guess what she was thinking as could Jacob. He just smiled widely and wiggled his eyebrows at Jackie.

"Not that!" I quickly saved my ass.

"Pfff, don't you have patrol today?" Jackie quickly changed the subject to make clear that she didn't believe what I was saying.

"Nope."

Jacob was having way too much fun with pissing off Jackie. They kept bickering like that for the next two hours so when Embry came by to rescue me, I practically hugged the life out of him.

"Wow, I thought you didn't like my hugs."

"I don't but spending too much time with those two in one room messed up my mind."

"Was Jacob being a jerk again?" he asked Jackie.

"Hey! I'll let you know that your girlfriend doesn't get it when she's unwelcome somewhere."

"My girl is welcome everywhere."

I almost vomited. Were they going to act like that all the time now that I knew they were imprints? I hope not because it almost makes me wish I didn't know about it.

"If you're going to be all mushy, you have to get out of my house. There is a strict no-cheesiness policy here."

Jacob snorted but Embry looked a bit pissed off. Oh please, is he always going to be like that whenever I hate their public display of affection? Because that is going to happen a lot!

"As if you and Jacob aren't like that?" Jackie said.

That made me think. We really weren't all that touchy feely except when necessary but that's kind of how I like it. I saw Jacob thinking about it as well and then looked at me.

"Nope!" we said together.

"Anyway, Kim wanted all of us to come over at her house tomorrow night. Her family is having a barbeque or something and she didn't want to go there all alone."

"You want to go?" Jacob asked me.

I nodded. I didn't see why not. Whether I like it or not the pack was going to be a big part of my life since it's the main part of Jacob's. I think it's time I try my best to fit in with them a little more. God knows it's what Jackie wants me to do.

Eventually Jackie and Embry left, well I actually kicked them out when they started making out on MY couch. That's just not acceptable. At some point I had to get dressed since I had spend the entire day in my pyjamas and I can't wear that to have dinner with Jacob's father tonight. I was pretty nervous about it but at least now I wouldn't be left all alone with Billy Black.

"I hope you went to the toilet because from now on you're not allowed to do that anymore."

"Are you serious?"

"Of course I am and you promised. Are you really going to break a promise you made to me?"

The tone in my voice was clearly a threat so Jacob who didn't want to get on my bad side, decided to shut up. I didn't have the truck and Jacob hadn't used his car to get here last night. Unfortunately that meant we had to walk all the way to Jacob's house. It's not really all that far but I just felt like whining to Jacob.

"Are we there yet? My feet are tired."

"You could just go back to your house and I'll get my car at my place. Then I could come and get you afterwards."

"You don't have to do that. We've only been walking for a few minutes. I'm just exaggerating."

Except that I wasn't. My feet were really hurting but it was so stupid to admit how much since we hadn't been walking for that long. Why had I put on the damn heels? Suddenly Jacob stopped. We weren't there yet, what was he doing?

"Hop up."

"Are you serious?"

"Your feet are killing you and I happen to be a super wolf with a lot of strength so I suggest you take advantage of that."

"By getting on your back?"

"Come on, Erin. Just admit you don't want to walk anymore than you already have and just let me carry you. I can assure you that it won't hurt your feministic reputation."

I snorted and rolled my eyes at his comment. He was right though. I should use his super strength to my advantage. I eventually got on his back and I could tell he was trying to fight back a grin.

"If you make a comment about it, I will get back to my house and not talk to you for the next week."

"I wasn't going to say anything."

"But you were thinking it."

"Is that not allowed as well?"

"Indeed it isn't."

'Though crowd."

I don't like depending on Jacob even if it's just him being gallant this time. It reminds me of him not letting me cut my pizza and not being allowed to leave my window open whenever I want to. I refuse to be pushed into the role of damsel in distress.

Nevertheless it was kind of nice to have him carry me and wrap my arms around his neck. He's just so warm. I have to watch out that his warmth doesn't lull me to sleep. It won't be a very productive dinner when sleeping beauty is sitting at the table.

_Please review. It would make me so very happy!_


	38. The new girl in town

_Thank you so much for the awesome reviews __**kikikiki, jblc77, Luli Cullen, dstj1432, Zoexclaire, AngelHeartFantasy12, happinie93, Sami, angel057, secretprincess and Super-Fudge!**__ So here is chapter 38! Wow, never thought I'd get so far with a story :DI amd definitely still continuing this story (don't want to let you guys down) but school started again so I'll probably update less often but no worries, this story is still very active! Enjoy!_

**Chapter 38**

Dinner with Billy Black hadn't been awful, at all. With Jacob sitting with us this time there wasn't a minute of silence and I actually liked Billy, a lot. He was really nice and kept telling me how glad he was his son had finally found a girl worth chasing after. That would make me blush and Jacob would be like 'Daaad!'. It was nice.

"So Erin, how are you dealing with the imprint?" Billy asked me when I had forced Jacob to go to the toilet after I had forbid him to go earlier this evening. He had been holding it up the entire time and tears almost came to his eyes.

It wasn't that scary anymore to be left all alone in the room with Billy. It was even hard to remember why I had been nervous about this in the first place.

"It's still going to take some getting used to, especially being around the pack all the time but it's not all that bad."

He smiled at me and I couldn't help but smile back. I felt very welcome in his house.

"I really am glad that my son met you."

Probably because that way Jacob leaves the house more often and Billy can have the wild orgies he wants to. Ieuw, why did I think that? Now I won't be able to get the picture out of my head for the next hour.

"He really needed someone to love him back and he just got very lucky with a wonderful girl like you."

Billy's words made me blush. I wish my dad would stay stuff like that to Jacob as well but of course he doesn't know about the whole imprinting thing. He doesn't know that what I feel for Jacob is for life, yet. I doubt that would make him change his view on things though he might ground me if he ever finds out I'm dating a guy who changes into a wolf to fight vampires. I might want keep that piece of information to myself.

This time Jacob did take his car to drive me home. I was so grateful that I didn't have to walk back as well. When I said goodnight to Billy, he pulled me into a hug. It was a little awkward because I had to bend down and since I'm so used to being around Jacob, it surprised me that Billy's hug didn't send my skin on fire the way the pack's does. But the fact that Jacob's dad hugged me made me feel accepted by him and that meant so much to me.

"I like your dad." I said to Jacob when he drove me home.

"I think he liked you as well." He smiled.

Jacob might not say it but I know he was a little worried his father wouldn't like me. After all not a lot of people on this reservation would be happy when their son dates a non-Quileute girl.

"Hey, what is going on at Mrs. Hayworth's house?" I asked Jacob.

Mrs Hayworth was a nice woman whose husband had died many years ago. She couldn't have any children so I thought it was sad when she was left all alone after his death. She lived in the same street as me but since it's a really long one, it's not that close to my place.

"I heard she met someone over the holidays and married him."

"What? How come I don't know that? You weren't even here during the summer."

"My dad knows everything that happens on the reservation."

"Don't make your dad sound like the all-seeing eye. That's creepy!"

Jacob laughed and grabbed my hand.

"Good for her though. She deserves to be happy."

"Doesn't everyone deserve to be?"

"No."

"That's a bit harsh. I can't think of anyone who doesn't deserve to be happy or in love." He said while he brought our intertwined hands to his lips.

"Can you?" He asked while pressing a kiss to my hand.

"Yes, and I can vaguely remember you telling me that vampires don't either."

"I was talking about people, Erin, not leeches."

I don't know what my opinion is on that subject yet. The pack seems to really hate all vampires and easily forgets that they used to be people like us until some vampire decided to doom them. It still made me uncomfortable whenever one of them spoke of tearing them apart limb by limb but that was easily settled once I imagined the vampire as Bella. I know I never met the girl but I can't help but hate the person who had made Jacob suffer like she did.

"Maybe you could go over tomorrow and introduce yourself?"

"To Mrs Hayworth? I think she knows who I am after 17 years."

"I meant to her new husband and his children. They probably don't know anyone here." He smiled.

"What if one of them is a really hot guy?" I teased.

"Since the only son is 6 years old, I don't think I'll get jealous."

"How do you know that?"

"My dad went to welcome them a few days ago and I went with him. They're actually really nice. The oldest daughter is our age so she'll probably have a few classes with us."

Somehow I didn't like the fact that he met this new girl and seemed to like her. It's completely irrational and not really jealousy but there was definitely an uneasiness in the pit of my stomach. Now I'm definitely not going to introduce myself to this girl I already don't like.

The weekend was over now and I didn't feel like getting up. I had a big test this afternoon and I hadn't exactly had the time to study for it. I could have just told Jacob yesterday that I had to study but I hadn't want to do that. I rather spend my time with him than trying to figure out my textbook. I'd just have to quickly scan my notes during the morning.

I got in my truck and drove to school. When I arrived there I noticed Jacob wasn't there yet. I hope everything's okay. Usually the reason he isn't in school is because there's some danger. He could also just have patrol but I wouldn't know. I didn't memorise his schedule by heart like Jackie apparently did for Embry. But at least she knew when she needed to panic.

"Morning, did you study for the test?" Andy jumped at me out of nowhere.

"No, did you?"

"Nope, I was hoping you did so I could just copy from you but since you didn't, I think I'll look for another victim."

"Did you guys not study this time either?" Jackie asked with by her side, of course, Embry.

"I didn't have any time this weekend." I tried to defend myself but we all knew I still wouldn't have studied if I had the time.

"I had the time, I just didn't feel like it." Andy admitted.

"At least he's honest." Jackie glared at me.

"But he doesn't have a boyfriend who doesn't want to leave when you ask him to."

Yes, thank you Embry! I'm liking you more and more.

"Great of you to remind me that I don't have a girlfriend, Embry!" Andy snapped.

The hostility between those two still hadn't been solved but at least they acted civil-ish around each other. I'm convinced Jackie had something to do with that.

"But I won't be single for long..." Andy smiled.

"Jolly, you're crushing on another bimbo again." I grumbled.

"Not just any bimbo, THE bimbo!" He smiled.

Oh no!

"You're not dating Tara Greenwell, right! Because if you are, our friendship is over!" I practically screamed through the entire school.

"I'm not but at least I know where our friendship would be if I were." He scoffed.

"Who were you talking about?" Jackie asked.

I didn't realise she was still following the conversation. I thought she was too caught up in fishing for Embry's tonsils to keep up with our conversation. That reminds me that I'm so glad Jacob and I don't disgust people the way they do.

"Emma Hurley."

Who's that? I might not talk to all the people in La Push but I know them all by name and I've never heard of her before.

"Who?" Embry asked.

Andy answered him but refused to look at Embry while doing so. That's pretty immature but Embry didn't seem to be that bothered by it.

"She moved here last week. Her father married Mrs Hayworth after they met a few months ago."

"Jacob told me about that but how do you even know her?" I asked.

"I ran into her at the grocery store yesterday and we hit it off." He winked at me.

"Are you sure that's what it was? She was probably just trying to get rid of you." Embry joked but Andy didn't see it that way.

Luckily Jackie noticed that the comment set Andy off and quickly left with Embry in tow. Me and Andy had the same class right now so we walked together.

"I think you might like Emma."

"Why? You just called her a bimbo. That doesn't sound like someone I want to befriend."

"I just said that to piss you off and obviously it worked. No, I think you'd get along with her because in a way she reminded me of you."

Andy was attracted to a girl who reminds him of me? I'm kind of grossed out by that and I think he noticed that on my expression because he quickly changed his words.

"Not that I'm interested in you that way. She's more like the sexy, hotter and more dateable version of you. But then better."

I'm pretty sure I should be insulted by that comment. I didn't get the chance to express my indignation because we had to start class.

"People, can I have everyone's attention please?"

Mr Grayborn was way too nice to be a teacher which resulted in him having absolutely no authority in class. Not that I minded. We always had 5 more minutes to talk while he tried to grab our attention.

"We have a new student starting today. This is Emma Hurley."

Only then did I notice the girl standing in the corner. Emma Hurley was a beautiful girl and I think everyone noticed. The boys were practically drooling on their desks. She had long blond hair, blue eyes and the length of a supermodel. What I liked about her the most was the fact that she wasn't Quileute. Maybe it would be nice to have a new friend this year and if Andy thinks we would get along, I could at least try.

"Hi, my name is Emma. I moved here last week with my family. I have three siblings. Zoe who is 16 years old, Eliza is 13 and Olly is 6. I hope to fit in with this class."

So she was a little bit of a suck up but overall she seemed like a nice person who I would get along with. She sat in the row in front of me and Andy who almost fell out of his seat because he was so excited she had greeted him.

During class I came to a realisation, namely that Emma Hurley reminded me of someone I already knew and it wasn't myself. She reminded me of Tara Greenwell and we all know that's not a good thing. The way she flipped her hair back, her giggle when one of the guys turned around to wink at her and the way she spoke to Keith Hakley was similar to the way Tara spoke to me. Fine, I don't like Keith either but it's just unnecessarily mean to tell him not to talk to you because you're afraid his breath might be toxic.

And to make it even worse she did have some traits similar to mine as well. She laughed and walked like me. She even made jokes I would make. This was freaking me out. I don't want to see a person whose half me, half Tara Greenwell. This is like my worst nightmare! Except that my worst nightmare is Jacob telling me he wants to be with Bella again and decided to become a vampire but sadly has to offer me to Edward as a snack. Yep, I have weird nightmares.

I really needed to take a look at my textbook during lunch and that would never happen if I was seated in the cafeteria. I decided to go to the library for that because I knew I'd never run into someone I knew there. I don't think Andy even knows what it looks like.

After half an hour trying to cram so much information in my tiny little brain, I felt a little more reassured that I might not fail the test too hard. I put my book in my bag and got up. When I turned around, I saw Jacob leaning against my table.

"Hey." He smiled.

Even his smile and such a simple word coming from his lips, made my insides turn into jelly.

"Hi, where were you this morning?"

"I had patrol but this way I've got the entire evening free for you." He smiled when he pulled me close and planted a sweet kiss on my lips.

"That sounds kind of good."

"I'm guessing you're dad is still not my biggest fan so could you come to my place after school?"

My man thinks of everything.

"Okay but I'll have to return the car home first."

"Can't your brother do that?" Jacob almost whined.

"He's 14. He's not supposed to drive a car."

"I've already seen him do that and I don't want to be mean but he's a better driver than you."

"I'm hurt!" I fake gasped.

"You'll survive." He said while nudging my neck with his nose.

"You weren't at lunch." He actually whined now.

"I needed to study."

"Why?"

"Because I have a test the next hour and I didn't study at all this weekend."

"Because I made you spend the entire weekend with me?" he sounded a little guilty.

"That's what I told Andy and Jackie but even if I didn't see you all weekend, I still wouldn't have studied."

Suddenly Jacob pulled back and gave me an intense look.

"That's not good, Erin. You have to study. Don't you want to graduate?"

"Don't go parent on me right now." I groaned.

He must have realised I don't want him to tell me what to do. He knows I don't like that. He sighed and shut up about it. We stayed a little longer in the library and he walked me to class when the bell rang.

The test wasn't a disaster but it wasn't good either, it wasn't even acceptable. There is no way I passed. Maybe Jacob was right and I should study some more and not let him distract me so much. But if I did that, I would be listening to what he told me to do and I just don't want to give him that satisfaction. I could always just study behind his back. I'm making it sound as if I'm cheating on Jacob with my homework.

I wasn't in the greatest moods because of it and I really didn't feel like driving all the way home while I just wanted to be with Jacob. I texted my brother to meet me in the parking lot after school since I would let him drive home instead. He did need the keys for that. I texted Jacob I'd ride with him to his house and got a series of smileys in return.

I had already given Bryan the car keys because I had run into him in the hallway. I was on my way to Jacob's car when I saw him talking to Emma Hurley in front of his locker. He was smiling at her and she was smiling back at him. She was standing really close to him and lightly touched his arm when he apparently said something funny. The feeling I get when I see him talking to Tara Greenwell came back but hit me ten times harder than it usually does. I don't like feeling like this, I don't like her touching my Jacob like that and I definitely don't like him smiling like that at the sexy, hotter and more dateable version of me.

_Sorry if dinner with Billy Black wasn't what you all expected of it but I wanted to put the focus somewhere else this chapter. It was already longer than I intended it to be. _


	39. Was I wrong?

**Chapter 39**

When Jacob noticed me, he waved me over to him and Emma Hurley. I cautiously made my way over and quickly grabbed Jacob's hand.

"Emma, this is my girlfriend Erin." He proudly stated.

"Oh right, I think you're in a few of my classes." She smiled at me.

Okay so maybe she wasn't that bad. She was really polite right now and didn't seem fazed at all by Jacob calling me his girlfriend. She didn't appear to be interested in him like that and she could just be trying to make friends. It can't be easy to move here during your senior year.

"Will you also be at the Conweller's house tonight?" She asked.

"That's right. Erin, we apparently forgot that we promised Kim we'd go to her parents' barbeque."

"Great, so you'll be there as well? At least there will be a few faces that I know."

She said goodbye and took off.

"Mrs Hayworth is apparently a good friend of Kim's mom so Emma was invited as well."

Now that I've realised my hostility towards the girl was totally ungrounded, I felt kind of stupid but I still didn't want to talk about her.

"Do we have to go?" I whined.

"You said you wanted to go."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did. Embry asked us yesterday, remember? I asked you if you wanted to go and you said yes."

"I did?"

"Yes."

"That still doesn't mean we have to go. I can change my mind if I want to."

"Of course you can change your mind but that doesn't mean we're going to do what you want. I already told Kim we would be there. Are you asking me to break a promise?"

I hate it when he uses my words against me. I put my arms around him and looked at him with big innocent eyes. Maybe this would do the trick.

"But I don't want to go. I want to spend the evening with you, not half of La Push."

"Believe me, I want that too but we'll still be there together."

"Fine."

I also hate it when I don't win an argument.

When what I wanted was completely ignored, we ended up at Kim's house. Jacob's father came with us and it was pretty endearing to see Jacob take care of his father. He helped him in and out of the car with ease. When he noticed me watching him, he asked what was wrong. I just smiled and turned around. He's a good friend, boyfriend and now son? Sometimes he seems too good to be mine.

There were a lot more people than I expected. The house was filled with people and the Conwellers are probably the wealthiest people in La Push so they have one of the biggest houses around here.

"Do you want a drink?" Jacob asked me.

I nodded and he left me. I saw Jackie talking to Kim and tried to get to them.

"Hi."

"Hey, Erin. Did you come alone?"

"No, Jacob's around here somewhere. Thanks for the invitation by the way."

"Thank you for coming. Most people here have seen me bathe as a little kid and they love to bring it up at times like these so I'm trying to avoid all of them right now."

I smiled. Kim was kind of funny. I always thought she was this really shy kid who wouldn't dare talk to someone she didn't know but I was pleasantly surprised. Jackie had left us to make out with Embry probably and I really enjoyed Kim's company. We talked about school and shape-shifters. She told me she had fainted when Jared had told her about the legends being true. Well, I didn't do that at least. No, mine was way better with the running and yelling.

Eventually I started to wonder where Jacob could be. It's not that hard to find a drink around here. Several people had already offered me some but I was waiting for Jacob. After a while I told Kim I was going to look for him.

There were too many people in the house since the weather wasn't all that great and the only person insane enough to go outside was Kim's father who was in charge of the barbeque. I was starting to feel really thirsty and since I just couldn't find Jacob, I decided to look for a drink myself.

I talked a little to most people in the pack. Emily and Sam didn't come. They had decided that tonight was the perfect opportunity to have a romantic dinner together. Apparently they don't get the chance to do that a lot since the pack is always at their place. I was talking to Seth right now. I liked this guy. He might look like a giant older than 20 years but there was still something so childish about him. He was also very happy, all the time. Being around him made me happy as well. While talking to Seth, Paul suddenly joined us and I didn't like the conversation anymore.

"Aren't you supposed to be draped all around Jacob right now?" He snarled.

There is no one else in the pack who keeps reminding me that they are all wolves the way Paul does. There's just something so animalistic about that guy that I'm always a little scared in the back of my mind that he'll try to eat me.

"She doesn't always have to be around him. She's not an extension of Jacob." Seth came to my rescue.

Paul just grumbled and kept glaring at me while drinking his beer.

"So, what kind of music do you listen to?" Seth tried to salvage the conversation but Paul rudely interfered again.

"Is this the period where you push Jacob away again? Excuse me for not keeping track of it. You always push him away, pull him back in, push away, pull in, it really gets confusing after a while."

What is wrong with him? If I didn't know any better I'd say he's just trying to stand up for Jacob but they're not even friends. I had thought about that possibility before but Jacob told me that Paul is the one he likes the least with Leah as a very close second. Paul used to always spite him with his crush on Bella and now they have a pretty hostile relationship. I just don't understand why me and Paul do as well.

"I don't like the way you speak to me."

I tried to be the bigger person because that's how my father raised me but there's only so much crap I can take.

"And I don't like you, period but that didn't stop you from weaselling your way into the pack, did it?"

What? Before I could get really angry at him, Seth said they had to go and pulled Paul with him. I don't know what it is that made that guy hate me so much but I'm not going to even try be the bigger person anymore.

And now I was left standing all alone. The conversation with Paul had really set me off and I had the crazy idea to cool down outside. When I closed the backdoor behind me, I was attacked by cold chills but I refused to go back inside. I didn't want to run into Paul again.

I wanted to sit down on the bench in the yard but there was already someone taking up that spot. A young girl was sitting there. She had blond hair to her shoulders and she was kind of pretty. I would have guessed her to be 16 years old. She had her arms around her knees and her chin was resting on them. She was staring off into space and seemed upset about something. I didn't know the girl but Jacob told me that Kim's father worked in Forks and a lot of people form there were invited here tonight. She seemed lost in thought but I thought it would be a nice thing to ask her if she was okay.

"Is something wrong?"

She was surprised by my voice and quickly looked up.

"Euhm...no." She blushed.

She seemed like a really shy person. Perfect, I wasn't really in the mood for chitchat.

"Good, can I sit down then?"

She nodded and moved to make room for me on the bench. I sat down and there was an awkward silence between us. I was considering going back inside the house. It was way colder outside than I had expected and having nothing to say to her was making me uncomfortable.

"Do you live in Forks?" She asked me.

"No, I live on the reservation."

"Oh."

And then there was silence.

"But I thought only Quileute people lived in La Push."

Pfff, she didn't exactly choose an original subject. I don't think I can count anymore how many people from Forks asked me why I live on the reservation instead of Forks.

"People like me living on the reservation is a rarity but we're there."

"I'm glad."

That's kind of a weird response. I didn't get the chance to ask her something anymore, not that I knew something to ask her.

"So do you have any siblings?"

"Yes, I have one younger brother."

I do realise we're having a very typical conversation but that's way better than the awkward silence.

"That's nice, I have two sister and a brother. Are you and your brother close?"

"No, not at all." I almost snorted. "You?"

"Most of the time. Except..."

"Except what?" I eagerly asked, sensing this could make the conversation somewhat interesting.

"My oldest sister is really cool and she's like my best friend but I don't like the way she treats certain people."

This could be the moment she tells me her sister is secretly Tara Greenwell even though I know that's not possible.

"She can get really mean when she doesn't get what she wants."

Or it's a Tara lookalike...

"She sounds a little like a spoiled brat."

"Yeah, maybe she is. Like for example: a few days ago she met this person who came by our house and she thought he was hot. Now she has gotten it in her head that she'll make him hers."

"What's so bad about that? If you want something or someone, you should go for it."

I'm glad Jackie couldn't hear me right now because I'm sure she'd point out to me that I didn't do that once I realised I wanted Jacob. Maybe I should be more like that girl then.

"She does that all the time and when she finally gets the boy, and she always does, she dumps him and leaves him heartbroken. Plus he's got a girlfriend. She always goes after the ones who are taken and then makes them dump their girlfriends for her. She thinks it's fun."

Okay, I shouldn't be more like this girl. She sounds even worse than Tara. She didn't tell me anything more because the back door suddenly opened. Jacob walked out towards me but he stopped in front of the girl instead.

"Oh, Hi Zoe. I see you met my girlfriend. Erin, this is Emma's sister."

I think the world just stopped right now. This girl was Emma's sister? This girl's sister was Emma Hurley? That makes Jacob the guy who went by their house! I knew it, I knew it in my gut that I should dislike Emma and Jacob spending time together. I had been right, she did want Jacob in that way. Does this make me the girl who gets dumped in the end?

"Your girlfriend?" The girl, Zoe apparently, choked out.

"Yes, I told you about her."He smiled while he kissed my hand.

"Your hand is freezing! How long have you been sitting in the cold?" he panicked.

He quickly pulled me to my feet and wrapped his arms around me to warm me up. It didn't work. I was practically frozen to the spot by shock of what the girl had just revealed to me. I could see her quickly making her way back inside, probably telling her sister of what she just did. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get rid of Emma so easily.


	40. A threat called Emma Hurley

_I realised I forgot to thank the people last time for reviewing my story. I'm so very sorry but here they are: __**Thanks to Happinie93, kiki, Gloo1997, , MrsElizabethBlack, jblc77, Zoexclaire, HuntressofArtemis310, Super-Fudge, wolfhappiness, Luli Cullen, Tinkerbell-Lover-Ms-Write-This, angel057, claire, secretprincess and Happy2BeeMe.**_

_Wow, a lot of people reviewed that chapter. And for chapter 39, I want to thank __**Kikikiki, Luli Cullen, wolfhapiness, HuntressofArtemis310, Gloo1997, happinie93, 1sweetmoment, feathercloud42, dstj1432, Zoexclaire, secretprincess and AngelHeartFantasy12.**_

_I'm so glad that you all like my fanfic. It's also very entertaining to me to read what you think should happen. There were some really nice ones in there. Hope the chapter lives up to your expectations and don't forget to review. _

**Chapter 40**

The ride back home was awful. Jacob knew something was on my mind, worrying me, but I refused to meet his gaze. When he had asked me what was wrong, I just told him nothing was. It only got even more awkward when Emma asked Jacob to give her a ride as well since her parents still wanted to stay a little longer. So it was me, the man I'm in love with and the girl trying to steal him from me all in the same car. Joy!

"Thanks for giving me a ride back, Jacob. I didn't feel like staying longer than I already have. Who knew the people here like to tell complete strangers their entire life story."

She laughed and to my dislike, Jacob joined her.

"The people in La Push can be a little strange but they all have the best intentions." Jacob told her.

"Not all." I mumbled with Paul on my mind.

"What was that?" Emma asked.

"Nothing."

The rest of the drive home was torture. Every word that would come out of her mouth, made Jacob laugh or smile while I was sulking the entire time. Eventually we dropped her off and when she finally entered her house, Jacob asked me the question I'm sure he wanted answered since I stepped into the car.

"Why are you suddenly in such a bad mood? You were fine before but you've looked sour the entire ride."

"I told you it's nothing." I grumbled.

"Come on, Erin. Don't pretend everything's fine. There is obviously something bothering you and I want to know what it is."

"It's not like you always tell me everything." I snapped.

I immediately regretted my words when I saw a flash of hurt in his eyes. It's not fair of me to throw that back in his face. It's not like he wants to hide things like him being a shape-shifter from me. I sighed. I was deliberately trying to pick a fight with him because I felt threatened by Emma's interest in my boyfriend.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay."

But the tone in his voice betrayed to me that it wasn't. I didn't mean to make him feel bad. We stayed in silence for the rest of the ride. I guess that's how long our 'easy' relationship lasted. I didn't want to leave the car when he pulled into my driveway. It didn't feel right to leave him with so much tension left between us.

"Jacob..."

He turned towards me but still refused to meet my eye. My words had hurt him and I couldn't think of any to make it better. I just sighed. Eventually I left the car and made my way over to the door.

"Erin..."

Jacob had left the car and stood right behind me. I slowly turned around and looked at his face. What was he going to say? He had obviously been about to say something but swallowed his words.

I slowly pressed my lips against his and let out air I hadn't realised I was holding when he slowly kissed me back. I may not have the words to properly apologise to him but my actions can do that for me. When I pulled back, he smiled slightly sad at me.

"See you tomorrow, okay?"

I nodded. He kissed me on the head and walked back to his car. I shouldn't take out my frustrations on Jacob anymore. He doesn't deserve it and I hate fighting with him.

The next day I had made the decision that if Emma really was after Jacob, she'd have to go through me to get him. And I wouldn't make it easy on her. I drove to school and saw Jacob standing in the parking lot, without a flock of desperate girls around him. It's a rare sight but the way I like him the most.

"Hi." He smiled at me once I got out of the car.

I smiled back at him and gave him a small peck on the lips. It's funny how our argument last night seemed already completely forgotten even if we didn't discuss it. I was still contemplating whether I should say something about it, when Jacob brought it up himself.

"Look, about last night: I'm sorry I pushed you when it was obvious you didn't want to talk about it."

"I'm sorry I snapped at you." I whispered.

He smiled at me and pulled me closer to him while we walked to the school building.

"That's okay. It keeps me on my feet." He grinned.

He walked me to class, kissed me and left for his own class. It was just like every other morning before the Hurley's moved to la Push except that when I turned around, I looked at the face of a pissed off girl. Not that different from the normal situation either except that Emma Hurley had something vindictive in that creepy smile of hers. She is a source to be reckoned with.

"Good morning, Erin." She smiled.

I mumbled something similar to her and sat down next to Andy, far away from Emma.

"See, I knew the two of you would get along."

I fought the urge to ram his face against the desk. We don't get along at all, in fact I'd like to ram her face against the desk as well.

"Do you think she'd say yes if I ask her out on a date?"

Probably not since she wants Jacob. On the other hand, if she goes out with Andy she won't have the time to go after my boyfriend.

"Yes, I think she will. Why don't you ask her right now?"

"Okay, I will."

Andy got up and went over to Emma. It's probably not a good thing to encourage him when I know she doesn't like him in that way but I'm feeling kind of selfish right now. I could see how nervous Andy was asking her out on a date and the way she told him no. She seemed to do it in a friendly way but that doesn't change the fact that his hopes just got crushed and I could have spared him that. I'm an awful friend!

That's exactly the reason I told Jacob later on that I wouldn't have lunch with him because I needed to talk to Andy. He might not know it yet, but I used him to fend off Emma and I know that's wrong.

"Andy?"

He was sulking at a pick-nick table outside. He also didn't seem too pleased to see me. He only looked up at me for a moment before returning his gaze to the ground. Damn, I had no idea he liked her this much.

"I'd like to be alone right now, Erin. I'm busy licking my wounds after Emma's rejection."

"About that..."

"Don't worry, it wasn't your fault or anything. It's not like you knew she'd reject me." He tried to smile at me.

But I did know and that makes me even a worse friend than Jackie has been lately.

"Of course I didn't know a hundred percent for sure she'd say no but I did know she's after someone else."

"What? Who?" He demanded.

"Jacob." I whispered.

His look suddenly darkened in a way that I'm not used to. He looked angry. No, correction: he looked livid. He took a step closer to me and right now I wished I hadn't told Andy the truth. I had no idea if he was scary when angry because he had never been angry at me before.

"Are you saying you knew she'd say no but still told me to make a move? Why?" he practically screamed.

"I'd just thought that if you'd make your intentions clear, maybe she'd consider you and leave-"

I abruptly stopped talking because the words I was about to say would have definitely angered him even more.

"What? Leave your precious Jacob alone? Are you saying you made me make a fool out of myself because you didn't want her around your boyfriend?" He shouted.

"I'm so sorry, Andy. I didn't mean for you-"

"To find out? Don't worry about it! I've known for much longer that all that matters to you is Jacob, just like Embry is all that ever matters to Jackie."

'That's not what I meant."

"It wasn't? So you didn't just use me to ensure your relationship?"

My breath got stuck in my throat. I couldn't tell him I didn't because I did and we both knew it.

"See, everything has to make way for your precious Jacob, even your friend you've known since kindergarten. I would have expected something like this from Jackie but you? I can't believe you did that."

"Andy..."

"Don't talk to me."

Andy just left me standing there. I'm pretty sure I just lost one of my best friends and I don't think it will be solved as easily as with Jackie.

I eventually had to go to class and almost got killed by the angry look in Andy's eyes. I couldn't sit next to him so I was forced to sit in the only seat still available: next to Emma Hurley. I thought I could just ignore her and get through this hour but I didn't know she had so many ways to aggravate me.

She would be texting under the desk and giggle every time she got a new message. I know she's probably doing this to get under my skin but I needed to know if she was texting with Jacob. She also wouldn't stop tapping her shoe. It's ridiculous to get angry over such a thing but it made me dislike her even more because I knew she did it to irritate me.

When class was finally over, I almost ran out the door. I would watch a movie at Jacob's place tonight and I had a mission to fulfil: go through Jacob's mobile. I know, I'm not proud of it but the curiosity was eating me from the inside out.

"So what movie do you want to watch? Are you feeling dramatic, romantic or historical?" He smiled at me.

"I don't really care. You can choose."

"The Lord of the Rings it is."

"The first?"

"Nope, the third. The Return of the King."

"Huh? Why that one?"

"It lasts longer than 3 hours. That's three long hours I get to spend with you."

I just smiled and shook my head. He has to prepare me when he says things like that because I can feel a blush rising right now.

We'd been watching the movie for almost an hour when he pushed pause. He said he had to call Sam because he just got a text from him. I said it was okay because he just gave me the perfect opportunity to check his phone, except of course if he uses that one to call Sam.

"You should use the home line. It's cheaper."

"Really? I had no idea. Okay then , I'll be right back."

As soon as he left the room, I jumped over to his phone. I could hear Jacob talk to Sam in the kitchen. I quickly skimmed through his texts but the only names I came across were Sam, Embry and my own. No Emma. I was just about to put it away when a call came in.

'Emma Hurley' It said on the screen.

Why would she be calling him? I was trying to decide whether to pick up or push on the ignore button, when I heard Jacob saying goodbye to Sam. I quickly pressed down and put the phone back on the table.

"What are you doing?"

Jacob had entered the room sooner than I expected him to. Stupid shape-shifting powers that make him faster.

"I was just... calling my dad. My battery is dead."

"Oh, okay. What did he say?"

"I just told him that I was going to be later than expected."

He just smiled in return and pressed play again. While he was watching the rest of the movie, there were a lot of thoughts occupying my head. Why did Emma call Jacob? And why didn't Jacob notice my obvious lie? He always knows when I'm lying, I'm guessing it has something to do with the imprint. But then why didn't he notice it this time? Does that mean his mind is too occupied with something else to pay attention to it? Is it Emma on his mind?

Now I'm just driving myself mad. Maybe it has something to do with the pack. He did just get off the phone with Sam, he could have had some bad news for Jacob. Now I'm even hoping there's a vampire roaming the forest of La Push. What is wrong with me! I could just ask him.

"What did Sam have to say?"

"No big deal. There's just a change in patrols. Paul apparently had a fight with Leah and now they refuse to patrol together. Don't worry, nothing bad happened."

Nothing bad happened, yet. If he wasn't distracted by some vampire being in the neighbourhood, there weren't a lot of other options left, right?


	41. Hurleyinvasion

_I really love it when you all review my chapter with such compliments! So thank you __**Kiki, Luli Cullen, 1sweet moment, nene82743, angel057, jblc77, Mebs2010, secretprincess, HuntressofArtemis310, dstj1432, Night Wolf, XXXOneofThePackXXX **__and__** Happy2BeeMe! **__Jealousy really is an ugly emotion but it's so much fun to write about. And I just love all the drama it brings with it (only in books of course). A chapter in Jacob's POV is definitely a good idea and I already know which one that will be. But it won't be this one, or the next, or the one after that. You'll just have to wait and see but for now enjoy!_

_PS: A lot of free time is making its way over to me so hopefully I'll be able to write a lot of chapters. Cross your fingers!_

**Chapter 41**

I didn't sleep at all last night. My nightmares no longer consisted of Jacob leaving me for Bella the vampire. Now my terrible dreams were filled with Jacob confessing his love to Emma and kissing her. No matter what I did, I couldn't think of anything else. Around four in the morning I gave up and got out of bed. I might as well do something useful with my time.

When I'm nervous or stressed I clean up. Imagine the surprise on my father's face when he comes downstairs in the morning to find out I've cleaned the entire house. He knows me well enough to figure out that means something's wrong.

"What's bothering you, Erin?"

I just sighed. My father is probably the last person I want to talk to about my fear of losing Jacob. He'd probably just get excited about it.

"Nothing you need to worry about, Dad."

He didn't seem to believe me because for the rest of the morning he kept a close eye on me. When Jackie eventually came to pick me up, I rushed outside. This was probably the first time this year I was on time.

"You're early." Jackie exclaimed surprised.

"I couldn't sleep."

"How come?"

"I just couldn't, okay? Leave it alone!"

"Somebody's in a bad mood."

I just grumbled in response. My frustration in combination of no sleep apparently brings out my animalistic side.

"Okay, let's talk about something else. What happened between you and Andy? Last time I mentioned your name he called you a traitor and that's the clean version of the story."

Right, that' another thing I have to worry about. I also turned one of my best friends against me and I have no idea how to fix it.

"I did something bad." I whispered.

"What did you do?"

"Let's just say I wasn't being a good friend and I let Andy get hurt."

"Why? What happened?"

Should I tell Jackie about how threatened I feel by Emma's interest in my Jacob? Maybe she'll understand it better than anyone else but I'm convinced she won't approve of the way I used our friend. I'll tell her some time later. I should try to fix it myself first but not before I find a way to get rid of Emma Hurley.

"It doesn't matter."

Someone else would have pressed the matter but not Jackie. She let me sit in silence for the next five minutes and let me leave the car without saying another thing.

I was greeted by Jacob as soon as I left the car. With the winter getting more prominent now that it's December, his warmth is very welcome.

"Hi there. What are your plans for Friday night?"

"Nothing at the moment. Why? Did you have something in mind?" I smiled.

"Emma just invited us to have dinner at her place. I thought it would be nice to go together."

And the smile is gone. I'm pretty sure it won't be coming back for the rest of this conversation.

"No, I'm busy. I forgot I promised my dad to clean up the attic."

"That's too bad. I'll tell her later on."

And once again he didn't notice my very obvious lie. Jackie noticed, at least I think she did judging by her raised eyebrow.

"Don't worry about it. She's in my first class. I'll tell her."

There is no way I'm ever going to give them the opportunity to spend more than one second together. If they are going to fall in each other arms, it's going to be over my dead body. Yeah, I'm a real romanticist.

I had to keep true to my word so when I entered the class room and I saw Emma sitting at the second row, I decided to quickly get it out of my way.

"Emma, me and Jacob won't come Friday."

"Funny, I don't remember inviting you as well."

Remember when I said I always try to be the bigger the bigger person? Forget that! My rational mind leaves me as soon as I look at Emma Hurley. She really makes my blood boil.

"Too bad. I'm not coming and neither is Jacob."

She just laughed. What kind of response is that? It just makes me want to slap her even harder.

"Just because you said no, doesn't mean he did. I'm pretty sure he'd still be up for a romantic dinner." She smiled with such a menace in her eyes.

"What is wrong with you? You don't go after someone who's already taken!"

"Have you ever looked in the mirror, dear? Guys like Jacob aren't supposed to be with girls like you. It's just a matter of time before he figures that out and leaves you. I'm just speeding up the process. You should be grateful, I'm sparing you a lot of future grief."

Before I got the chance to talk back at her, the teacher told me to sit down. He had apparently already said so twice. She just kept smiling for the rest of class. But I too spend my time productively. I've figured out ten ways to kill Emma Hurley.

Feed her acid.

Drown her in her bath tub.

Teach Ash how to tear open her artery.

Push her of a cliff.

Suffocate her with a pillow.

Tell her the Cullens invited her over for a slumber party, then put a razor in her sleeping bag.

Design a website for vampires that states the deliciousness of Emma's blood.

Make Jackie ask Embry to kill Emma or else they're over. He'll do it!

Tell her she needs to see the castle on her city trip to Volterra.

Just shoot her.

But then I realised, that might be illegal and I decided not to test any of my ideas. Pity...

Class was finally over and when I tried to talk to Andy, he just passed me without giving me a glance. I'd really hate myself right now if I didn't reserve all my negative vibes for Emma Hurley.

"You're jealous."

I hadn't even heard Jackie sitting next to me in class and she opens the conversation with that?

"What?"

"You're jealous and it is written all over your face."

Is it that obvious? I think I hide it pretty well. Jacob definitely didn't notice it.

"Don't even try to deny it and I have to be honest, I'm surprised it took so long for you to realise it yourself."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Really! What was she trying to say?

"I'm just saying that watching your boyfriend being surrounded by tons of girls worshipping the ground he walks on, can make anyone jealous. And let's face it, you're the very jealous type."

"I am not."

"Fine, deny it but that's not changing the fact that every time Emma Hurley gets within a 100 meter proximity to Jacob, your eyes shoot daggers."

Damn, so she did notice. Maybe that's a good thing and I could finally let someone in on the discovery of Emma's rotten soul. Jacob definitely wouldn't believe me.

"What am I supposed to do? I can't just let her take Jacob away from me!"

"Why are you being so dramatic? They're just friends. She's actually really nice."

"Nice? She's the devil incarnated. She's evil!"

"Don't you think you're exaggerating?"

"No, I'm not. This morning she told me I should be grateful that she's trying to steal my boyfriend because he'd leave me anyway!"

"Really? That doesn't sound like her."

"Doesn't sound like her? You've known her for three days! How can you know what she's like?"

"You're right, I don't know her but I know you and you making things up in your head completely different from the reality because of your insecurities doesn't sound as improbable as Emma secretly trying to steal Jacob from you."

"You don't believe me?"

"I wouldn't really say I don't believe you. I'm sure that Emma being after your boyfriend seems real to you but-"

"You're making me sound like a lunatic!" I shouted.

"I don't mean to but you are screaming like one through the entire class right now."

She was right. All my classmates were staring at me as if I'd just gone bonkers. I can't really blame them either. I sound insane but that's just because I'm so insanely in love with Jacob and afraid I might actually lose him. I do realise that my feelings might be completely absurd but I can't help that's how I feel.

For the rest of the class I didn't talk to Jackie anymore. I thought at least she'd understand because she's an imprint, my best friend and the person who knows me best in the entire world. If she can't help me with this mess, who can?

I left the classroom and took off to the parking lot. The day was finally over and I couldn't wait to go home and have a lockdown. Of course Jacob would have to be there with me as well since a big city slut wants my guy.

I would be going home with Jackie since I'm sure Jacob came to school by wolf or whatever you want to call that. Embry had patrol tonight so he and Jackie were saying goodbye to each other as if it were the last time they'd see each other in years. Jacob hadn't left the building yet so I was left all alone to watch the gross couple make out.

"Missed me?"

I turned around and smiled at Jacob. I shouldn't punish him for my ungrounded insecurities. Besides when I'm with him, it seems impossible to ever be without him.

"Yes, I did. Today was endless torture."

"Don't you think you're exaggerating a little?"

"No! But it doesn't matter right now. I get to spend the entire evening with you." I smiled.

My bright smile however wasn't being returned by one of his. Why wasn't he smiling as well? Didn't he want to spend time with me?

"I can't." He sighed.

"What? Why not?"

"I've got patrol."

"That's impossible. I wrote down when you're on patrol and today wasn't included."

"I know but with Leah and Paul fighting, I had to take over some of his shifts. I'm sorry but can I just say I find it very adorable that you wrote down my patrols?" he tried.

"No, it's not adorable and you know what else isn't adorable? You spending the rest of the week on your own."

Of course I didn't really mean that. If I left him all alone for the rest of the week, he'd be Emma's by Friday.

"Oh, come on Erin. This isn't even my fault! I was just-"

Our discussion was interrupted by someone coughing behind us and who else could it be than a Hurley? Luckily it wasn't Emma standing there with her conniving smile but I'm not too fond of her sister either.

"Oh hey Zoe." Jacob forced a smile out.

Couldn't he just tell her to leave us alone? I don't like her and as my boyfriend it is his duty to do the same.

"Hi Jacob. I was just wondering if I could have a word with Erin?"

"Sure..."

Jacob seemed surprised by the fact that she wanted to speak to me instead of him. I was too since the only time we actually spoke to each other was when she announced me the hidden agenda of her sister. Not really a good memory.

"I just wanted to apologise for what I said the other night at the Conweller's house." She told me once Jacob had respectfully left us alone.

"Why would you apologise for that? Wasn't it the truth?" I snapped.

"It-it was, I just... I didn't mean to, to come in between you and Jacob." She stuttered.

"Oh, don't worry. You didn't. You can tell your sister that."

"I don't understand..."

Before I could explain her exactly what I thought of her and her sister's 'good' intentions, I was interrupted by Jacob.

"I have to leave soon, Zoe, so if you don't mind, I'd like to spend some time with my girlfriend."

"Oh, that's okay. I'll guess I'll see you around and else we'll see each other on Friday." She smiled at him before leaving.

"What did she mean by that?"

He just gave me the cocked eyebrow. As if he didn't understand what I was talking about. Do I have to explain everything?

"What's happening on Friday?"

"The dinner at the Hurley's place."

"No, we cancelled that."

"You cancelled it, Erin. My Friday was still free and I had already agreed to go. I don't need you to hold my hand in everything I do." He smiled.

No, but you do need me to beat the slut off you. If I'm not there to protect him from her, she'll take his virtue even though I don't even know if he's still has it. Huh, that might be a topic we need to discuss.

"So you're going alone, in their house, with Emma."

"Yeah."

Why was he not getting this?

"You can't go."

"Why not?"

I can't really tell him I'm jealous. He'll find it ridiculous and I do realise it kind of is. And if I tell him what to do, he'll just tell me that means he can do the same to me. There's no way I would let him boss me around like that.

"Because I had made plans for us."

"I thought you had promised your dad you'd clean up the attic."

Damn it, Erin! If you're going to feed him lies, you might want to remember what you told him.

"I can do that some other time."

"Good, so you'll be joining us then?"

"What? No, that's not what I said."

"I already told them I'd go so I'm going but it would be really great if you joined me."

"Fine." I grumbled.

If I can't get him to drop the dinner date, I might as well join to keep an eye on him, well her actually.

"Great." He said when he kissed me softly on the lips.

"I have to go now but I'll try to come by tonight after patrol. Just don't freak out when you hear some noise coming from your back yard, okay?"

I nodded and let him walk away with Embry into the woods. I eventually got in the car and let Jackie drive me home. With a foul mood I entered my home only to bump into my father standing in the hallway, staring into the living room.

"Dad? What are you doing? Aren't you supposed to leave for work yet?"

"Yes, I know but Bryan brought a girl home and I just want to see what she looks like."

Had my dad turned into a gossiper as well? It must be contagious since it's all the people seem to do in la Push. I have to give them so credit, at least they're spending their time better than the ones who are drunk since noon.

"Dad? Your job?"

"Right! You'll tell me later what she looks like, okay?"

Dad was acting like a little school girl who just found out that her crush liked her back. Why was he making such a big deal out of this? Bryan brings home girls all the time. Wait, that's not true. He only brings girls around the house when dad is off to work. He probably doesn't want his father to know what he player he is. At the age of 14! Bryan must really like this girl to bring her here when dad's still home.

When the girl entered the hallway, I froze. I would recognise that blond hair and creepy smile anywhere. Bryan didn't pay any attention to me, he just opened the door for the girl and kissed her goodbye. Ieuw!

"What is she doing here?" I almost screamed at him.

"She's my new girlfriend. Her name is-"

"Hurley." I groaned.

"Yeah, exactly. Her name is Eliza Hurley."

Emma's other sister! This is way too much Hurley for one day.

_Feel completely free to review! :D_


	42. Friday nights aren't what it used to be

_Thank you all so much for the great reviews __**Mythical Words, jblc77, nene82743, wolfhappiness, .x, HuntressofArtemis310, Tinkerbell-Lover-Ms-Write-It, kikikiki, Dreamcatcher94, Luli Cullen, dstj1432, Mebs2010, secretprincess, Happy2BeeMe, hollywoodab, claire, angelvoice15, angel057, WinkAtTheSun and happinie93. **__Wow, just look at how many people reviewed the last chapter! And as a reward I give you the longest chapter yet. So now I give you: the Friday night dinner _

**Chapter 42**

The only thing worse than one Hurley, were three Hurleys. And somehow they had all weaselled their way into my live. One was my brother's new girlfriend, the other seemed desperately to make me like her and the other one had decided she would make Jacob hers. That might be a little difficult for her since Jacob's already mine. Oh right, I'm going to have dinner at their place this Friday. At least that's a way better option than Jacob going over there by himself.

Unfortunately Friday was approaching way faster than I wanted it to. I was hoping Jacob would just conveniently forget that we were supposed to go to dinner there but he didn't. Andy still hadn't spoken to me this week and Jackie also wasn't my biggest fan right now since I told her what I had done to Andy. She was right though.

I was making my way over to Jacob's place at 5 o'clock. We would be going to the Hurleys tonight together and I was still thinking of ways to make him change his mind. I don't think I have a pretty good shot at doing so.

Jacob greeted me enthusiastically with a kiss. Not that it wasn't a great kiss but I couldn't help but let my mind drift to later tonight.

"I still have to get changed. I just got off patrol and I don't think they'll let me into their house with mud all over me." He smiled.

Huh, maybe I should break the shower if that were the case. Then again that might not help to build up a good relationship with Billy. I can never win!

Jacob left me in the living room and since I already feel very much at home here, I made myself comfortable on the couch. I was thinking of ways to get it through the evening when I heard the front door open.

"Hi Erin."

Billy came in the room with a big smile. That's something I've never seen him without. He even smiles more than Jacob.

"Hello Billy. Jacob's in the shower."

He nodded and asked me where we were going. It would have been nice if I could tell him we were going on a romantic date but reality wasn't so great.

"We're having dinner with Mrs. Hayworth and her new family."

I refuse to mention the bitches' name.

"That's a good idea. I'm glad you and Jacob are trying to make the Hurley's feel at home."

Jacob's definitely trying harder than me in that department.

"Say hello to Emma for me, will you?"

"I didn't know you met her before."

Oh wait, that's stupid. Jacob met Emma when he went to their house with Billy to welcome them.

"Of course, she's been over here a few times now."

What? Not only was she all over him at school, she also came to his house! And he didn't tell me? And Billy let her?

"I'm really glad she and Jacob are such good friends."

Everybody seems to be thrilled about it: Jacob, Billy, Jackie. Doesn't anyone see what she is trying to do ever since she met Jacob? I hadn't said anything for the past few minutes and Billy spend his time observing me.

"There is no need to be jealous, Erin."

How come everyone can see what the relationship between Jacob and Emma is doing to me, except Jacob himself?

"I'm not jealous."

But I didn't sound very convincing and Billy noticed. Instead of reprimanding me which is very close to what Jackie did a few days ago, he just smiled.

"You do know he doesn't think of her like that, don't you?"

Yes, in a way I know that but it doesn't change the fact that Emma's trying her best to take him away from me. And let's be honest right now, who wouldn't chose Emma over me?

"She's not his imprint, you are. And I know from experience that nothing can ever break that bond and nothing will ever make him look at another girl the way he looks at you."

Finally someone who says the words I've been dying to hear. I would have liked them even more if they had come from Jacob's mouth but that's just being too optimistic.

"Then how come he's spending so much time with her? He's more around her than me these days."

"No matter how much we love a person, friends are still needed by everyone."

"Jacob already has enough friends. He's got the entire pack."

"Not someone who understands him the way Emma does."

What was that supposed to mean?

"They have a lot in common, you know."

"Like what? She grew up in LA, he in La Push. She's the palest and blondest girl in a 10 mile radius, he's obviously Quileute. He's a shapeshifter, she an all American high school girl. What can they possibly have in common?"

"They both lost a parent to cancer. Emma lost her mother quite recently and it must help to have someone who went through the same thing."

I hadn't thought about that yet. Maybe that's the reason he's spending so much time with her, because he can help her. He's just not aware of her hidden agenda. It's there alright, I might still have my doubts if I hadn't heard it from Emma herself. She's just using her mother's death as a reason to get closer to Jacob. And he's too nice to see right through it.

"Oh hi dad, I hadn't heard you come in."

Jacob stood in the doorway, dressed in a pair of jeans and a black shirt. He looked good and it's the first time I wished he was uglier. That way Emma might back off.

"Are you ready to go, Erin?"

I nodded my consent and followed him outside but before I could step out of the room, Billy called me back.

"There is nothing wrong with wanting Jacob all to yourself but jealousy is an ugly emotion that can ruin a lot of things."

And Billy says that! I know being jealous isn't something I should be proud of and believe me: I'm not. But he was making it sound as if I could lose Jacob by doing so. Didn't he just tell me before that there wasn't anything in the world that could make Jacob leave me? I'm confused right now.

"I'm really glad you changed your mind about tonight's dinner." Jacob smiled once I got into the car.

I just nodded. It's not like I had a lot of choice. I couldn't exactly let him go by himself. It wouldn't surprise me if Emma had secretly planned a dinner for two tonight. I'm glad if I ruined her plans.

"Are you okay? You seem a little out of it."

So he finally noticed I haven't been acting what most people would consider normal lately.

"Nothing. Are we there yet?"

"Yeah, we're there." He said but this time he did sound suspicious of my answer.

The few seconds walk to their front door had a lot of similarity to a walk to hell. I never wished so badly to be somewhere else.

Mrs. Hayworth was the one opening the door and I'm afraid she'll be the only friendly face in this house tonight.

"Hello Jacob, hello Erin. It's so great you wanted to come over for dinner. Come on in."

Mrs. Hayworth is a really nice person. I remember going to her husband's funeral all those years ago. My dad had made me and Bryan go because she had always been nice to us and she helped out my dad a lot when our mother first left. She lead us to the living room and I got pretty excited when I didn't see Emma's face anywhere.

"Emma will be right here. She just had to go by the store first."

Damn, that was a short euphoria. I sat down on the couch between Zoe and Eliza. Oh boy, this was going to be fun!

Mr. Hurley or Brighton as he insisted we'd call him, was a very friendly man and it wasn't that hard to see what made Mrs Hayworth fall in love with him in the first place. Too bad his daughters aren't anything like him. His son was still very young and seemed to be only interested in the television. I was futilely hoping that Emma might share his passion for the bright colours on the screen tonight.

"There she is."

I was kind of surprised that her coming in the room didn't immediately make my blood boil. I thought that maybe my body had developed an automatic response to her presence. But then I saw the outfit she was wearing and my blood did start to boil. She had gone out completely and wore a short black dress that didn't leave much to the imagination.

"Hi Jacob, Erin. It's so great to see you."

Why was she hugging my boyfriend? And why did that dress ride up to mid-thigh whenever she walks? Thank god Jacob didn't seem to notice her ridiculous short skirt. Believe me I watched him like a hawk and his eyes never once travelled to her butt. He deserves some credit for that. Maybe Billy was right and he really didn't feel attracted to the most beautiful girl in our school. Though you have to admit that sounds a little unlikely.

"Dinner's ready."

Thank god. All I had to do now was stuff myself with all their food to avoid conversation. I was seated next to Jacob and across Emma. Great! Then again I don't really think there's a 'good' seat at the table.

"So Erin, what does your father do?" Mr. Hurley tried to make conversation.

"He works at Forks Hospital."

"He's a doctor? That's great. You must be so proud of him."

"Actually he's not a doctor."

"Is he a nurse then?"

"No honey. I told you Daniel was a security guard."

"Oh."

This evening was getting worse by the second. Not only was my relationship under fire, my father was now too.

"What does your mother do?"

I saw Mrs Hayworth nudge her new husband under the table but he had still said so. Under any other circumstances I wouldn't mind telling complete strangers that my mother had left but I didn't want Emma to know something so personal about me.

"Erin's mother left them when she was young, right?" Emma smiled at me.

How did she know that? It's not exactly something I go around town, telling everyone who wants to hear. Of course Mrs Hayworth could have told her but she seemed just as surprised as I was when Emma uttered those words. No, I had a pretty good idea who her source had been and he was sitting guiltily next to me.

"I'm sorry Erin. I shouldn't have brought that up."

"It's okay, Mr. Hurley. You didn't know." I coldly replied.

I could see Emma gloating right now. It was so clear in her eyes but once again I seemed to be the only one noticing.

"Well, moving on. How did you and Jacob meet?" Zoe said her first words all night.

"Oh yes, I love those kind of stories." Mrs. Hayworth beamed.

I loved the fact that Emma got the most sour look I've seen on her face since the day I met her. I decided it should be my time to gloat.

"Let's see, Jacob's best friend was dating my best friend but before that I hadn't really spoken to him. I saw Embry, Jacob's friend, at the beach one day and had a chat with him. Jacob was there too and let's just say it clicked."

"Clicked? That sounds painful." Olly shouted from across the table.

The entire table laughed and even I pitched in.

"It's not painful at all, Olly. It just means that it was love at first sight." Jacob smiled, looking down at me.

"That's so sweet." Mrs. Hayworth sighed.

I always knew she was a sucker for romance.

Even though that day at the beach Jacob was rude and looked at me as if I was the blame for all the misery in the world and that definitely drove us apart later on, it's still a nice memory in my book. There had been something so honest and pure about his first expression, the one he got on his face when he looked me in the eye for the first time. It's good to know that the first thing he thought when he saw me was something along the lines of 'wow'. Emma sure as hell can't say that.

The evening went by very slowly and no matter how much Mrs. Hayworth tried to include me in the conversations, I kept my input of the night to 'The food is really good' and 'Thank you'. The conversation topics weren't really something I could talk about since they were about all the times Jacob had already been to their house and apparently that's a lot. It mustn't come as a big surprise that I wasn't in a great mood by the time we got to dessert.

"Why don't you guys already go to the living room for dessert? We'll be there soon." Mrs Hayworth said to me and Jacob.

Jacob had to use the restroom, can't really say that came unexpected if you saw the amount of food and water he consumed in only 40 minutes time. So that left me all by myself in their living room. Well, not completely alone. Their little brother, Olly was there too but I don't think he'd notice anything that isn't related to the television.

"Can I sit here?"

Zoe had come up behind me without me noticing her. She was standing there with her arms behind her back, wiggling form one feet to the other. She seemed like the perfect image of innocence but there was so much similarity to her sister that I just can't bring myself to be nice to her.

"It's your house." I shrugged.

She sat down next to me but consciously put a lot of distance between us. She must still be afraid I'd bite her head off or something. Not really an irrational fear I must admit.

"I wanted to apologise."

"For what?" I said while deliberately refusing to meet her gaze. Suddenly the television seemed as interesting to me as it did to the little boy.

"For telling you what my sister wants from Jacob. I didn't mean for you to feel intimidated like that."

"Is that not why you told me in the first place?" I snapped.

"No." She whispered.

"Then why did you tell me?"

"Because I needed someone to talk to and your were the first friendly face I had met all evening."

Looking at the girl next to me, I realised she embodied the character Emma had made Jacob believe she was. Zoe was younger than Emma but seemed so much more mature and so much more in need of a friend and for some insane reason she had decided she wanted me to be that friend. I couldn't do that. I feel this intense dislike for her entire family and even though I know I have no reason to be hostile towards this young and broken girl, I can't help but be rude to her.

Jacob and the rest of the Hurley household didn't enter that living room one second too soon. Emma made me hate her but Zoe just made me incredibly uncomfortable. We had blueberry pie for dessert and for a moment I dared to think the hardest part was over when Emma uttered the next words.

"How's Andy these days? I haven't spoken much to him since he asked me out and I had to say no."

"Andy asked you out?"

Jacob could sound a little less outraged, I'm just saying.

"Oh yeah, didn't I tell you? Andy apparently liked me more than a friend and asked me out. I had to turn him down since I didn't feel any attraction towards him."

It's probably not being noticed by all the others in the room but when she said 'him', she looked straight at me with that evil little smile that I've grown to hate.

"Poor Andy, he hasn't been very lucky in that department lately. Is he okay, Erin?"

Why is Jacob suddenly worried for Andy's wellbeing? He hasn't really tried to hide the fact that he'd like for me to spend less time with my best male friend.

"I wouldn't know."

"Is he still not talking to you?" Emma chipped in.

"Wait, what? Andy isn't speaking to you?"

Damn, I guess this time the roles were reversed and I kept something from Jacob. I didn't really want to tell him about the non-speaking terms I was on with Andy because I couldn't really tell him the reason, now could I?"

"Yeah, I noticed the two of you weren't talking anymore so I asked Andy about it but he wouldn't tell me what it was."

If that awful grin on her face is anything to go by, I'd bet everything I've got that she knew exactly the reason we weren't speaking anymore. She just wanted Jacob to ask me the reason.

"Why?"

And there you go! Surprisingly enough it was Mrs Hayworth who came to my rescue by announcing that Olly had to go to bed.

"We should leave as well, thank you for the invite." I quickly said, eager to leave this place.

I'll count my lucky stars if I never have to enter that house again. Me and Jacob said goodbye to everyone and quickly walked back to my truck. I was dreading the moment we'd have some time alone because I'm pretty sure he'll ask me about Andy.

"What happened between you and Andy?"

And there it is! Maybe I could make a living as a psychic. And I could start a business with Embry since he appears to have 'the gift' as well. But I'm kind of changing the subject right now.

"It's nothing."

"Your nothing is big enough for him not to talk to you anymore."

Why was Jacob getting angry at me? Why does he even care about what happened between me and Andy?

"And why didn't you tell me?"

"When would I have told you so? I've hardly seen you this week." I raised my voice.

"You're right." Jacob sighed. "I've been pretty occupied with patrols lately but that doesn't mean you can't tell me something like that."

"Speaking of not telling things, didn't you find it necessary to tell me that you practically spilled my entire personal life to Emma?"

He did have the decency to look guilty.

"I'm sorry. I should have told you that but I didn't think it was such a big deal."

"You didn't think it was a big deal?"

I was shouting now. It's a good thing we parked pretty far so there's no way the Hurleys can hear us right now.

"How would you feel if I blurted out to random people that you're a vampire chasing shape-shifter?"

"That's hardly the same thing and Emma's not some random person. She's my friend, who I trust."

That did it for me. I got so angry I was ready to drive Jacob over with a car. First he tells me that talking to Emma about my mother isn't important and then he says he trusts her? After she just announced it to the entire table? I got into my car and turned on the motor. I was already trying to manoeuvre the car out of its parking space when Jacob knocked on my window.

"Aren't you forgetting something? Unlock the door, Erin."

"Now why would I do such a thing? If Emma's such a good friend, I'm sure she'll be more than happy to drive you home. If not, you can always walk."

And then I took off. I left Jacob standing in the middle of the road with no means to get home. He is a shape-shifter though, he can just run home. After the second turn I felt terrible about the way I had just acted. Jackie was right, I was acting like a lunatic.

It was too late right now to turn back, I'm sure Jacob must be gone by now. I'll just apologise to him tomorrow, or maybe I should call him tonight. How mad can he still be? It was already... ten minutes ago. Tomorrow's good as well.

All the lights were already out when I got home. Everyone must have already gone to bed. Good, at least I don't have to play nice with anyone right now. I made my way upstairs to my room, still thinking about Jacob. Maybe I should call him right now. At least that way he can't throw it back in my face that I didn't try to make amends. I sat down on my bed and pulled out my phone. I let it ring two or three times but he didn't pick up. Normally he always picks up after one ring, as if he knows when I'm going to call him. I didn't hear his voice come up on the other side of the line but I did hear his ringtone coming from the other side of my bedroom window.

When I pulled open my curtains I was greeted with the sight of Jacob sitting on my windowsill, holding his phone up towards me. Had he been there for a while? I quickly opened the window and let him in. The way he jumps inside my room sometimes reminds me a lot more of a cat than a wolf.

"Hey."

I smiled forcedly towards him and gestured for him to sit down on my bed as well. We didn't say anything for the first minutes and I was grateful for those few seconds of silence. Lately my head has been spinning in overdrive and like usually only Jacob's presence can make me calm down.

"You want to tell me why you let me walk all the way here?"

That's another thing I find so great about him. He's incredibly curious to whatever happens in my life but he never forces me. Except tonight but that's just because I started yelling at him first.

"I don't like Emma."

"Yeah, you've made that very clear tonight."

"I just don't want her hanging around you all the time. Doesn't she have anything better to do?" I pouted.

"We're friends. It's not like-"

But then he stopped talking and looked at me with big eyes. What?

"Are you jealous?"

"What? No, of course not."

My tone didn't even sound convincing to me.

"You are." He grinned.

"Am not. Why would I be jealous in the first place?"

"I don't know but it sure is cute on you." He snickered.

"It's not cute at all, Jacob. It's making me lose my mind."

"What do you mean?"

How can I explain it best to him without freaking him out? I'm sure even imprints can get cold feet.

"When she's with you, I lose my sanity. I fill my mind with all these possibilities that you and her could be doing right then and I start acting crazy because I'm just so... I'm just scared."

"Of what? That I'll suddenly want her?"

When I didn't answer him, he pulled me closer to him, into his lap.

"Erin, that's stupid. I'm in love with you. I thought by now you'd know that."

"I do know that, I'm just not sure she does."

"She knows. How can she not when you're all I talk about? She's not interested in me like that."

I wasn't very convinced about the last part but the image of Emma's face whenever Jacob talks to her about me, brought a smile on my face.

"I don't want you to hang out with her anymore and I know I don't have the right to ask you that but it's for the sake of my sanity."

"I can't do that." He sighed. "She's my friend and she needs me right now. Besides don't you trust me enough to leave me alone with her?"

"Yeah..." I whined.

"Plus I like having a friend outside of the pack."

"Does it have to be her?"

He just laughed and hugged me closer to his chest. I didn't really mind but I did notice he didn't answer my question. So it does have to be her.

"Just...be careful."

"Do you think she'll try to molest me or something?" He smiled.

Honestly? I wouldn't be surprised if she did try.

"Please?"

"Fine, I'll put at least one foot between us at all times. Satisfied?"

"Very."

I snuggled a little closer to my Jacob.

"Does that mean I get to sit in the car next time?" He smiled.

"I'll think about it."

I should have told Jacob about the way I felt ages ago. I finally felt reassured that there is no way Emma could ever take Jacob away. He belongs with me.

_So…what did you guys think?..._


	43. Being the wingman

_Woohoo, another update within the week! Aren't you proud of me? I want to thank all the people who reviewed the last chapter: __**dstj1432, nene82743, lala, wolfhappiness, kikikiki, Luli Cullen, Secret Musings, happinie93, SerenityAngels, XXWhispersInTheDarkXX, MysteriousAndChaotic, Frankie, secretprincess, silently screaming, GiaLunaLove, Happy2BeeMe, angel057 and electrogirl88. **__Do keep reviewing, it makes me very happy! :D_

**Chapter 43**

I woke up Saturday morning alone in my bed. Jacob had left a note to tell me had patrol, again. I should ask him some time why he's got so many patrols. I got out of my bed and picked up my phone. No new messages. I didn't really expect Andy to send me one but I had hoped Jackie wasn't all that disappointed in me anymore. I could just call her myself but that would look a lot like grovelling and I am not doing that.

The house was empty, like always and silence makes me think. Not a good thing! After an entire hour all by myself, I came to a conclusion. Grovelling is so not attractive on me but I think it's something I need to get though to make it up with Andy. So in a whiff of insanity, I walked over to Andy's house. I just hope he's at home now.

"Erin?"

Andy's sister Casey opened the door and seemed really surprised to see me. Andy is really close with his sister and shares everything with her. The fact that she's shocked to see me here means she knows Andy doesn't want to talk to me anymore.

"I don't want to get involved in this but do you think it's a good idea to talk to him right now?"

Oh, she knew.

"Probably not the best idea in the world but I want to talk this out."

"Okay, just remember that I warned you."

Andy was sitting outside, listening to music and doing his homework. Homework? Something is definitely wrong here.

"Hi." I tried.

But because his music must be up to the max volume, there's no way he could hear my soft voice.

"Andy."

The look on his face when he turned around and saw me standing behind him definitely destroyed any fantasies I may have had that he had cooled down by now.

"Hi?"

"What do you want?"

"To apologise, again."

He just turned around and put his music back on. This wasn't going exactly as planned. I guess it's time that I try a different approach. I walked up to him and took away his i-pod.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to apologise but you're making that so hard for me."

"Good, maybe then you'll leave me alone. What part of 'don't talk to me' didn't you get?"

"The part where you don't want to be my friend anymore."

"What did you expect? What you did was-"

"Terrible, disgusting and probably the lowest thing I've ever done."

Now he was silent and at least listening to me. Fine, he might be standing there with a frown on his face and his arms crossed angrily but he wasn't interrupting me right now. Bringing myself down was apparently a better approach. I might as well go all the way then.

"I mean this may even be worse than that time I went out with this guy when I was in love with his best friend. Or when I hit Jackie's boyfriend in the face because I thought he was cheating on her."

"That was pretty bad."

"And this was even worse because you're my friend. You're one of my best friend and you never did anything to deserve this."

"I am a pretty good friend."

"The best!"

But Andy didn't say anything else. Was I still in the doghouse? By the looks of it, I am. Well, I could just try again tomorrow and the day after that, and the day after that, and the day after that, and the day after that.

"Since I didn't get Emma as a new girlfriend because of you, I think it's your responsibility to help me find a new one. And you should drive us both to a bar in Port Angeles tonight."

"Really?"

"I don't think it's a good idea to drive myself when I've been drinking."

"Does this mean I'm forgiven?" I said hopefully.

"No, you're not. But I might be little more forgiving when I'm drunk."

"Well, we should get you wasted then."

I may still be in the doghouse but I'm determined to get out of it tonight. Plus a drunk Andy is a very funny Andy. So even when I'm not forgiven at the end of the evening, at least I'll have something to laugh about.

The drive to Port Angeles takes about half an hour and that was a lot of time spend awkwardly. Every time I tried to make conversation he would shoot me down. For example:

"You like this band, right?"

"Not anymore."

"So which band do you like nowadays?"

"Nothing."

"Oh. So what were you listening the other day then?"

"Don't remember."

"Would you like to hear the music of this singer I've just discovered?"

"No."

I mean, seriously! How the hell am I supposed to make conversation when that's all he's giving me? If this is the way the rest of the evening will go, I'm doomed.

We finally arrived at this bar which looked pretty cool I must admit. Before my car was properly parked, Andy had already jumped out and left for the entrance. When I finally got in as well, I couldn't find Andy anywhere. I looked for him for ten minutes and this place really isn't that big, when my phone rang.

"Where are you?" Jacob's panicking voice came from the other line.

"Hello to you too. I'm in Port Angeles."

"How come I don't know that?"

"Because I didn't tell you."

"I'm coming over right now."

"What? No."

"Why not? Are you mad at me or something? Because whatever it was, I'm so sorry. I know-"

"Wow, what is going on, Jacob? Why are you freaking out like that?"

Seriously, why is he flipping right now? Was something wrong?

"Because you don't want to spend time with me."

"God Jacob, that's not it at all. I just need to spend some time with Andy."

"You're with Andy?"

It's strange how his tone just changed completely. He didn't sound panicking anymore, much more shocked right now.

"Did you guys make up?"

"Not really. I'm trying to make him forgive me."

That might be a little hard if I can't find him though.

"Look I have to hang up right now. I need to find Andy. I lost him in the crowd. Are you sure everything's okay?"

"Yeah, I'll come by tonight. I need to talk to you."

"Okay, you're scaring me right now."

"It's nothing bad. I just- I really, really love you. I'll see you tonight."

That was not a reassuring call at all. Did something happen? I didn't have much time to contemplate what might have the reason Jacob had sounded so weird because Andy suddenly showed up out of nowhere.

"The boyfriend is being blown off for me? It's like the world doesn't make any sense anymore."

"Where did you get that beer?"

"From the bar?" he sounded annoyed.

"You're not 21."

"But apparently I can pass for it."

"You didn't bring me one?"

"Nope." He popped and I'm pretty sure that means it's not his first drink.

"Besides you have to stay sober."

He's not going to make this easy on me, is he?

"Now the real reason I brought you tonight: which one do you think I should make a move on?" He asked me while pointing out two girls in the room.

"Seriously? You want me to be your wingman?"

"Duh. Now which one do you think I should go for? The blond or the brunette?"

"The blond." I sighed.

"Why? The brunette is really gorgeous."

"Exactly. And gorgeous people happen to bitches."

"Are you calling yourself gorgeous right now? Or doesn't it work in the other direction?"

Aww, that stung but he wasn't exactly wrong.

"Or did you just say that because you know the blond one really wants someone else?"

Did he just bring me here to put me down? Because if that's the case there is no way I'm staying here all night.

"Or do you think the brunette is out of my league?"

"Did you want my opinion or not?"

"She is not out of my league and I'll prove it to you." He ignored me.

He made his way over to talk to the brunette and that was the last time tonight I saw him for longer than one minute. For the rest of the evening I only saw him three other times. The first time he had his arm around the brunette and came to gloat, the second time he had his arm around the blond and came to boast and the last time I had bumped into him at the toilettes.

This evening was a disaster. How was I suppose to grovel when I didn't even get to spend any time with Andy? It was almost 4 o'clock in the morning and I wanted to go home. I wanted to end the longest night of my life in my nice warm bed and I also wanted to know what had made Jacob act so strange on the phone earlier. He was waiting at me at my house and he was getting just as bored as I was. Earlier this evening he kept texting me, asking me where I was staying. I didn't want to stay much longer and I couldn't really imagine that Andy did. There were almost no people left.

"Are you feeling bored?" Andy slurred when he sat down next to me at the bar.

"Aren't you?"

"Nope." He popped again and it was really getting on my nerves right now.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Almost. There's just one thing I still have to do." He hiccupped.

I thought he was going to leave again for another hour but instead he hugged me. Because he was drunk and we were sitting on barstools it looked pretty awkward but at least he wasn't being mean anymore.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Coming here with me. Jackie wouldn't have done so. And you blew off Jacob for this, she definitely wouldn't have done that."

I thought it was best not to remind him of the fact that Jackie also never would have let him ask out Emma when she knew he'd be rejected.

"You're welcome?"

"Yes, I am!" he shouted.

How big is the chance that he won't remember this tomorrow morning?

"We should get you home."

I dragged him all the way to the car and he's way heavier than I thought he would be. The drive back to La Push wasn't as awkward as the ride to Port Angeles but the snoring coming from the back seat sure was annoying. When I arrived at Andy's place, I still had to take the keys from his back pocket and that place was way to warm for my hand to be there. When I finally fished out his keys, I opened the door and carried Andy to his room. He sure owes me for this.

"Wait." Andy called me back when I was about to leave the room.

"What is it?"

"Sorry for calling you a bitch." He grumbled.

"That's okay. I deserved it."

"Yes, you did." He laughed.

There's just no having a proper conversation with him tonight.

"Am I forgiven now?" I tried.

"Well, you are the reason I got to make out with two hot girls and made it back home safely so I guess I need to forgive you."

"Thank you." I told him but I don't think he heard me anymore since he started snoring again.

When I finally got to my own house, it was already 5 o'clock in the morning. I quietly made my way up to my room. I didn't want to wake up anyone and I'm pretty sure my dad would be really pissed if he found out I only came home now.

I expected to be greeted by a strange acting Jacob but I wasn't. I didn't even see him in my room until I turned on the lights. Jacob was lying asleep on my bed and I have to admit he looked pretty adorable thought I know I wouldn't appreciate it if he said the same about me. I didn't want to wake him up so I was even more quietly than before changing my clothes and getting in my bed. But when I tried to lie down, Jacob woke up.

"Erin?"

"Shit, sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up." I whispered.

"That's okay. How late is it?"

He looked at my alarm clock on the night stand and turned back to me.

"5 o'clock?" He yelled while still trying to whisper.

"I know but I couldn't really leave Andy there, now could I?"

"No but aren't you tired?"

"I'm exhausted."

I threw myself back on my cushions. I could fall asleep right now except that Jacob wouldn't let me. He hung over me and was watching me closely.

"You smell like beer. Have you been drinking?"

"No, but Andy might have thrown a beer or two over me."

"Is everything okay between the two of you now?"

"Yep." I popped.

It was contagious. I do hope Jacob won't start doing that or there is no way he's spending the night here.

"Good. Am I ever going to hear the reason you guys weren't speaking?"

"Someday yes but I hope that day is still very far away."

"Erin?"

"Hmmm."

I was quickly drifting away. If he would just stop talking for a few minutes I could fall asleep.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" I mumbled.

"For not thinking about your feelings." He said sounding very guilty.

"When do you ever not think about my feelings?"

I mean it, Jacob is like the most considerate person I know. What is he talking about?

"When you told me you didn't want me to hang out with Emma anymore last night. I should have listened to you."

"Why? Did something happen?"

I was wide awake now and jumped up. Had she tried something? I knew it, I knew it!

"No, nothing happened but I talked to the pack."

"About me?"

"Not really. I was thinking about our conversation last night during patrol and-"

"Wait. Why were you thinking about it?"

"Because Jared asked me if you weren't annoyed by me spending so much time with Emma."

Huh, so Jared understands girls better then Jacob.

"And he told me I was stupid to spend my time with Emma if I could just as well spend it with you."

Jared is so my new best friend now and since Jackie didn't believe me last time, it looks like there's a vacancy.

"And you did tell me you're jealous and I should have done what's best for you and us from the beginning."

"You actually listened to what Jared said?"

"He was right. So I talked to Emma and told her we couldn't hang out anymore."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"You did that? For me?"

"Of course and I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner."

"And she was okay with that?"

I find that a little hard to believe.

"Yes."

What? Now I knew that was a lie. But he was probably just saying that so I wouldn't feel guilty about Emma not having Jacob anymore as a friend. He doesn't know I wouldn't feel guilty about that at all.

"Thank you. You're the best boyfriend ever."

If I hadn't pulled him closer to me and closed my eyes to give him a kiss, I might have noticed how guilty he looked right now.


	44. Liar, Liar, Pants on fire

_I just wrote a kick-ass chapter if I may say so myself. Unfortunately for you guys it's not this one, it's the next. I know, I've been writing a lot lately. But no worries, this chapter is good as well, at least I think so. Reviews of course may confirm or destroy that idea. The positives are of course nicer to read like the ones from __**hollywoodab, Claire, MysteriousAndChaotic, wolfhappiness, PhyscoPenguan64, Secret Musings, ArcticGrl, Jinxfrost14, Happy2BeeMe, Mebs2010, tinkerbell-lover-ms-write-it, jblc77, harrellgirl, Mythical Words, XXWhispersInTheDarkXX, kiki, veryblueberry, dstj1432, happinie93 and electrogirl88.**__ It's always great to have such amazing reviews, thank you all so much! I've also noticed every chapter gets more reviews, I love it! I must say you were all very graphic in describing what you'd do to Jacob if he cheated on Erin. Very nice to read. Anyway I'm not going to bore you any longer: Enjoy!_

**Chapter 44**

I woke up in a great mood. Why wouldn't I? Andy had finally sort of forgiven me an Jacob promised not to hang out with Emma anymore. This is the best day in a while. Jacob was in my bed this time and that made me smile even more. I didn't want to wake him so I tried to get out of my bed without moving around. I can tell you that is hard. This time I seemed to succeed and was able to take a shower without waking him up. It sure was time I took one. Jacob had been right last night, I smelled like beer and it was awful. How did he not force me last night to take a shower? When I came back, I was surprised to see Jacob was still there.

"No patrol today?"

"No, my Sunday is completely free to spend with you." He smiled but something was off about it.

"Great, what do you want to do?" I asked excitedly.

It had been a long time since he and I got to spend an entire day together.

"You want to go to Port Angeles? There's this one movie they're playing right now. Something about-"

"Yes, that's perfect." He said.

"You didn't even hear what it was about."

"Doesn't matter. I'm sure that if you think it's a great movie, I'll find it awesome as well."

Okay? Since when do we have the same taste in movies? Usually he wants to watch some horror movie while I prefer fantasy movies ever since I found out my boyfriend was one of those characters. He doesn't like those movies a lot. He says they've got it all wrong. He especially gets worked up over movies where a human falls in love with a vampire. I think that may open some old wounds so usually I watch those movies with Jackie. Or alone since Jackie usually spends all her time with Embry.

"Okay, so do you want to drive?"

"If that's what you want. You can drive as well."

What is up with that? Jacob refused so far to let me drive because he says I'm a danger to myself and everyone around behind the steering wheel. Why is he suddenly letting me have my way?

"You can drive I guess but you will have to tell me why you're acting like my slave right now."

"What? You don't like it? I thought I might try my best to have a great day since I didn't spend a lot of time with you lately."

What was up with the guilt today and last night? Twenty-four hours ago he didn't seem to be bothered by it at all. Then again I did yell at him Friday night that he didn't spend enough time with me but he shouldn't take it too hard. I was angry and upset.

The rest of the afternoon was...weird. He let me pick the movie and sat through this corny comedy without any complaints. Usually he'd crack me up with his witty remarks about how unoriginal and unrealistic the movie is but now he was silent. Then afterwards he insisted that I'd choose the snack bar where we'd eat even though I knew he wanted to go to his favourite. He never goes anywhere else.

I was actually sort of happy when he had to go home. This was just a really weird day for me. I didn't like this meek version of Jacob. I know I'm being hard to please right now. I don't like the overprotective Jacob, the meek one or the inconsiderate one. I just want him to act like the Jacob I know.

The weekend was over and Monday had arrived again. I hope Jacob will act a little more normal now but I was being hopeful for nothing. He wasn't even in school today and when I asked Embry where he was he said 'patrol'. When I asked Embry why Jacob seems to be getting all the patrols, he just looked at me funny.

"What's up with Embry?" I asked Jackie once her boyfriend left for class.

"What do you mean?"

"I asked him something earlier and he looked at me as if I was a psycho."

"Don't you think you're blowing things out of proportion?"

"You mean like I always do?" I hinted to our last conversation.

"About the other day: I'm sorry I made you feel like I didn't believe you."

"That's okay. It's not like you were completely wrong. I was acting a little crazy."

Jackie smiled but I knew she didn't mean that the wrong way.

"So you and Andy made up?"

"Yep, although I'm not sure he remembers that after all the alcohol he had in his system."

"He was drunk?" Jackie said outraged.

Out of the three of us, Jackie is the most responsible one. When we were younger we used to tease her by calling her our mommy but then my mother actually left and it wasn't so funny anymore.

"Just a little." I tried.

"You just said he might not remember what happened."

Jackie didn't listen to me anymore. She was making her way over to her next class which she had with Andy, probably to yell at him. Too bad I've got another class right now. There aren't a lot of things funnier than Jackie scolding Andy. Reminds me of the good old days when there was no soul mate demanding all her attention and girls hadn't even noticed Andy has a defined six-pack.

Another reason those days were pretty good is because there was no Emma Hurley. She was standing in the hallway with that cocky, I'm-so-superior-look on her face. But she can't get to me anymore. She can't get her hands on Jacob anymore now that he doesn't want to spend any time with her. I just wish I had seen the look on her face when he told her that but I've got a pretty good imagination and that's making me feel good as well.

I was just going to pass her and completely ignore her presence but there was a strange look on her face. She looked like she was gloating. What the hell? I know why I would be gloating but she's got nothing to be happy about. When she noticed me staring at her, she made her way over to me.

"Hello Erin." She smiled.

"What do you want?" I bit back.

"Just wanted to ask you how Jacob and you were doing? It didn't look like you guys were okay Friday night."

"We're fine."

"Oh, so you're not mad about it."

"About what?"

"Haha, I can't say I'm surprised. Jacob doesn't want to hurt you."

What was she talking about?

"You're just pissed because Jacob doesn't want to spend time with you anymore."

"Not really. This usually happens. The girlfriend gets upset and he promises her we won't hang out anymore but that's when the secret dates happen. And Jacob is just feeling guilty because we kissed."

"What?" I yelled.

"I guess he didn't tell you." She smiled.

"You're such a bad loser and a terrible liar."

"Really? Then how come I know where he was Saturday and you don't."

He was with the pack. That's what he told me.

"Not so sure anymore, are you?"

She was just trying to get under my skin and I was letting her.

"We spend the afternoon together and I kissed him. He definitely kissed me back, you know. It was a good kiss as well, a great kiss. He tastes a little like chocolate but of course you already know that."

How the hell did she know that? I could have thought of other reasons like she was just guessing or something but I saw Embry looking at me and Emma as if there was something I wasn't allowed to know... Holy shit! And Emma was still smiling that ridiculous smile.

I got so angry, I saw red. I didn't even fully have control over what I was doing. Before I knew it, I had pushed Emma against the locker and punched her in the face. My hand was stinging but I swung back to hit her again. Before my fist could connect with her face again, someone pulled me back.

"What is wrong with you!" Emma shrieked.

There was blood running from her nose. Good. I wouldn't mind hitting her again. Unfortunately a teacher came around the corner before I could try that again. Although I might not have succeeded with Embry holding me back.

That's how I ended up at the principal's office a few minutes later, getting a speech about how it was very inappropriate to hit other students in the face. He was trying to reach my father, Emma's father and Embry's mother. Somehow they all just assumed Embry had something to do with it as well.

The principal couldn't get a hold on my father or Embry's mother but Mrs. Hayworth soon came into the office. If I wasn't still boiling inside with anger I might have felt bad when Mrs. Hayworth looked at her stepdaughter's face. But right now I felt kind of proud of what I did to Emma's face. I had hit her right between her nose and her eye. A big bruise was forming there between her swollen nose and her tearing eye.

"Emma! What happened to your face?"

"Hello Mrs. Hurley. Miss Hurley got into a fight with two other students. I think it would be better if we continued our conversation in the hallway."

Mrs. Hayworth nodded and followed the principal out of the office. Now it was just me in a room with the bitch who threw herself at my boyfriend and the jerk who had known about it.

"Erin." Embry tried.

"Shut up!"

"Yeah Embry, she doesn't want to hear about me and Jacob yet." Emma grinned.

"Shut up!" me and Embry both shouted.

"Look, Erin whatever Emma told you wasn't true."

"Oh, so nothing happened between Emma and Jacob last Saturday? And there isn't something you know that concerns me?"

"Well,..."

"Please, I don't want to hear it."

"That doesn't mean I won't tell you." Emma smiled.

"Shut up!" We yelled.

Finally the principal returned and Emma was allowed to leave with Mrs. Hayworth. I'll be glad if I never have to see her again. I might try to make my improvement on the other side as well.

"Mr. Call, Miss Thompson, since I cannot get in contact with your family, I'll try to reach them some other day. For now you are both suspended for the next three days."

That's just great. My father will be angry and he's already in a bad mood since Bryan got in a fight two weeks ago at school as well. I was very glad I had come with my own truck today so I could just leave right away and not wait for Jackie. Unfortunately Embry found it necessary to follow me all the way to my car.

"Wait, Erin! Just wait!"

"Leave me alone."

"Not until you listen to me."

"Letting you try and make me think Emma lied you mean? I know very well what happened. Emma might be a bitch but she's not a liar unlike someone else I know."

"No, you're right. Emma kissed Jacob but it's not like he kissed her back. And he wanted to tell you but we all know you'd just use that as another reason to dump him."

"Excuse me? Since when is cheating not a good reason to break up with someone?"

"He didn't cheat on you. He didn't kiss her back. He pushed her away the second he realised what she was doing."

"Because he tells you everything but I get left in the dark?"

"I saw it in his mind. He wanted to tell you what happened but we talked it out of his head."

"What? Why?"

"Because you'd just get upset and angry with him."

"And this is so much better of course!"

"Will you please just listen to Jacob when he'll try to explain it?" Embry sighed.

"No."

I got into my car and drove home. I didn't even get to class today. Not only will I be in big trouble with my father, the principal but I'll also be hopelessly behind on schoolwork. Not that that really matter right now. My boyfriend just made out with someone else and lied to me about it.

I was still so angry but the sadness about Emma's kiss with Jacob was slowly sinking in. If Embry was telling the truth, Jacob didn't really kiss her but he had still hid it from me. He does that a lot and I just can't get it through his thick skull to quit it.

I needed to calm down right now and there was only one way to do that. I'd just have to clean the house, again, for the second time in one week. Too bad the house wasn't so dirty anymore and I couldn't completely calm down. It was around noon when my dad woke up. He was working the nightshift this week so he would sleep during the day.

"Erin? Why are you home right now?"

"I...There... You see?"

He just looked at me with a cocked eyebrow. He was waiting for a proper answer.

"I got suspended." I whispered.

"You what? Erin!"

"I know. I'm sorry. I just..."

"What did you do?"

"I kind of...hit someone in the face."

I wish he would yell at me right now, that he'd say something mean and hurtful but he just looked at me so disappointedly.

"That doesn't sound like the daughter I raised."

He took the car keys from the table and left, saying he was going to buy some groceries. I had disappointed my father. Is there anything else that could go wrong today?

I went upstairs to find something to do. I guess I shouldn't be surprised when I saw Jacob sitting on my windowsill. My father must have locked my window because he didn't seem to be able to get inside. I wanted to look away but his puppy eyes are very hard to avoid. He just looked so sad and sorry. Any doubts I had about him not pushing her away, disappeared right away but that doesn't mean he's forgiven. Not even close.

I got up and walked over to my window. Instead of opening the window for him, I closed the curtains. I don't want to see him right now.


	45. Saying sorry is not the hard part

_So many reviews for the last chapter! That makes me one very happy girl! Of course I have and want to thank all the awesome people who take the time to review my story: __**jblc77, kikikiki, PhyscoPenguan64, Claire, Happy2BeeMe, MysteriousAndChaotic, bubz, heartstwilight, Mebs2010, Mythical Words, happinie93, XXWhispersInTheDarkXX, nene82743, .blown, SerenityAngels, wolfhappiness, ChelseaDagger14, Luli Cullen, ShatteredKunai, angel057, hollywoodab, lyarnah5, Jinxfrost14, Wasipi, Caroline Ogando, LSU lovePurple liveGold and . **__I love the fact that so many of you seem to relate to Erin but please don't hate Jacob too much..._

**Chapter 45**

For the next three days I didn't see Jacob at all. Not seeing him doesn't mean he hasn't tried to get me to talk to him. He hasn't stopped calling me, leaving me sad voicemails, sending me sorry text messages and knocking on my window each night. I do know I'll eventually see him the moment I leave this house which is why I'm dreading getting up right now.

Bryan told me Jacob has been sitting on our porch, waiting, every day now. My dad must have noticed him too but he's not speaking to me right now. He's never been more disappointed in me he told Bryan.

The only positive thing that came out of all this is that now at least I know where Jacob is every moment of the day. Though maybe I should be a little worried that he hasn't gone to school these last three days. I was right, the moment I stepped out of my house, I came face to face with Jacob.

"Erin, I'm so sorry."

"Save it. I don't want to hear it."

"You have to let me apologise." He begged.

"I don't have to do anything."

"Please Erin. At least let me explain to you what happened with Emma."

"No thank you. I just ate." I snapped.

"Please?"

I've always been a sucker for those eyes. He just looked so desperate and sad.

"Fine. You've got two minutes."

"Thank you. Do you want to sit down?"

"No, if you want me to listen to you, you'll have to talk while I drive to school."

He must be feeling really bad because he just agreed to get in a car that I'm driving. I got into my truck and waited for him to do the same before taking off towards school.

"I did go to Emma's house after talking to the pack to tell her we couldn't hang out anymore but she didn't take it very well."

I had known Saturday night that he was lying about her being fine with it. I should have pressed him that night to tell me the truth.

"She got pissed and told me I should break up with you."

"Was that the moment you decided to kiss her?"

"Damn it Erin. I didn't kiss her! Why would I even want to do that?"

"So what did happen?" I ignored his question.

"I told her that she shouldn't say things like that and then out of the blue she kissed me."

"And that shocked you?" I said sarcastically.

"Yes, not everybody has the worst case scenario in mind every moment of every day."

"And I do? Is that what you're saying?"

"I don't want to fight with you, Erin." He sighed.

"Maybe you should have thought about that before you lied to me."

"Are you actually going to listen to me or just pick a fight?"

"Fine! Though technically your two minutes are already up but since we're in a moving car right now and I'm guessing awkward silence must be even worse than this conversation, I'll put up with the sound of your voice."

"Thank you, I think. So of course I pulled away the moment she tried to kiss me, of course I did, Erin."

"And of course after that you just had to lie to me about it."

"Let's try something new. I do all the talking and you just listen." Jacob tried.

"You're the one who wanted to talk, it's a two way street."

"I'm trying to tell you something."

"Oh, there's the school. Looks like your time is up. Pity."

"Wait."

He pulled me back after I had parked the car and tried to get out of it.

"I just want you to know that I pushed her away because I don't want someone other than you to kiss me."

That's not going to happen anytime soon.

"I freaked out because I really didn't see it coming."

"I warned you!"

"I know. But I thought you were just jealous like I'm irrationally jealous of Andy."

"You're what?"

"What? You can get jealous for me hanging out with Emma but I can't?"

"There's a big difference. Andy's not trying to steal me away from you."

"I know that but he still gets to spend time with you when I don't."

"Wait! And you thought I was just being irrationally jealous? If you knew what it feels like, why didn't you stop it?"

"Would you stop hanging out with Andy if I asked you to?"

He's right. I wouldn't.

"You changed the subject. We were talking about Emma kissing you and you not telling me."

"Right, I went back to the pack and told them what happened."

How come the entire pack always knows much better than me what's going on in my life? That's just so unfair.

"They said I should tell you when you weren't jealous anymore."

"And you agreed with them?"

"They had a good argument."

"Which was?"

"You'd just use that as an excuse to break up with me."

"Why do you all assume that? Embry said the same thing."

"Because it's true. Every time something's getting a little hard, you run away even after you promised me you wouldn't."

"Don't talk to me about breaking promises. You said you'd put enough distance between you and her. If you did that, there's no way she could have surprised you with a kiss on the lips."

"Okay, so we're both not good at keeping promises. But there is one thing we're really good at."

"What's that?"

"Being together. You and me."

"Really? Because every time things are good, one of us messes up."

"Messes up? That's a little exaggerated, don't you think?"

"You're just saying that because this time it was you."

"And next time it'll be you and we're even again."

He looked so hopeful and it's not like I don't want to be with him. I've never really had dumping him in mind but he should know that just because he imprinted on me, doesn't mean he gets to do whatever he wants and he sure as hell doesn't get to lie to me.

"You kept it from me."

"I know and I'm so, so sorry."

"And it's not the first time you did that."

"I know and I really am sorry."

"Stop saying that and rather explain to me why you do that."

"I don't know okay. I wish I had some really good reason why I don't tell you those things but the truth is I just worry that you'll freak out and I want to spare you that."

"Stop that! I'm not this weak little child that needs your protection. You're treating me like a five-year old who's not allowed to know mommie and daddie are having a fight." I yelled.

"But that's what I'm here for. You're my imprint, it's my duty to protect you."

"From evil vampires who want to use my insides to make a milkshake, yes. Not from all the other things. I don't need your protection for anything else."

"You don't need me?" He asked me frightened.

"Is that what I said? No! I'm saying just because there's something bad going on, you can't leave me in the dark because you want to 'protect' me. I can take care of myself."

"But that's my job."

He sounded like a wounded child right now. Why can't he just understand that I'm not some baby who can't take any bad news?

"This conversation is pointless. You're not even listening to me."

"Then explain it to me. Please."

"Fine. Just like I don't want you to tell me what to do, I also don't want you to only feed me happy things so I'll never get angry. You hiding important stuff from me only makes the situation worse. You didn't tell me you were a werewolf and I hid inside my house for an entire week afraid big wolfs were coming to eat me. You didn't tell me how much you had hated imprinting at the beginning and we were apart for an entire week. And now you didn't tell me that Emma kissed you and I didn't speak to you for three days. How did keeping things from me ever benefit you?"

"You're right. I'm sorry. But you can't tell me you wouldn't have gotten angry if I had told you from the beginning."

"Of course I would have gotten angry, especially after I had warned you but I would have eventually cooled down and then I would have actually talked to you these past three days."

"And you wouldn't have gotten suspended."

"No, I still would have hit her in the face."

He laughed and I couldn't help but smile a little as well. But as sure as hell made sure he didn't notice that.

"Now will you please explain to me why it was so very important to you that you could hang out with Emma? And where were you really during all your so-called patrols?"

"I will, right after you tell me the reason Andy didn't speak to you for a while."

I sighed. Well, I wanted honesty. I might as well show him how it's done since he has no idea how to do so.

"Andy liked Emma and asked me if he should ask her out. By then I already figured out she was after you but I just thought that if Andy would ask her out, maybe she'd back off from you. So I let him humiliate himself in front of her."

"Erin!"

"I know, okay. It was a terrible thing to do but that's what jealousy does to me. I freak out and I act like some kind of crazy person. I humiliate my friend, I start yelling at a full classroom, I go through your text messages-"

"You went through my text messages?"

"Yes, I did. Because that's just one of the crazy things the jealous version of me does. And it's not like I didn't have any reason to be suspicious."

He knew I was right and he even seemed a little pleased that I had gone that far to check up on him. How could he be pleased with that?

"How did you get Andy to eventually forgive you?"

"I got him wasted."

I heard the bell ringing. We had already missed first period and the past three days. I might as well miss another hour.

"Now I want to hear the answer to my question."

"It wasn't that much the fact that I had a friend outside the pack. That was nice but it's not really what it was about. She told me about her mother and how much it helped that she had me to talk to. She told me she really needed me as a friend."

"Okay?"

"That's it. She needed me and I want to be needed. Not necessarily by her but just needed. And nobody does. My dad knows how to get around and has enough other people helping him. My friends have found their imprints and don't need me anymore either. Even my own imprint doesn't need me because I know she can take care of herself."

"That's it? All I had to do was say I needed you and you wouldn't have spend any time with her?"

"But you don't need me."

"Don't be ridiculous, Jacob. Of course I need you. I just don't need you to hide things from me but I do need you."

He smiled and for a moment I felt the need to reach up and kiss him but things weren't completely made up yet.

"Let's try something new. From now on we tell each other what's bothering us instead of keeping it to ourselves and driving ourselves crazy."

"That sounds good."

"Now there is still one question you haven't answered. What was up with all the patrols lately?"

"Are you sure you want to hear everything? It's not good."

"Is it something bad about me?"

"No."

"Is it something bad about you?"

"Not really."

"How bad can it be then? Shoot."

"Bella is pregnant."

"From you?" I shrieked.

"No, no, of course not." He quickly said.

Thank God, he got me really worried there for a moment.

"From the leech." He growled.

"How does that even work? Isn't he sort of dead?" I asked confused.

"Yeah, I don't get that part either but it happened. The pack is trying to figure out whether that thing is a threat or not." He grumbled.

"Wait, so this entire time you've been juggling between me, Emma AND Bella?"

"You're making me sound like some kind of player."

I cocked my eyebrow.

"I'm not!"

"Whatever. What does this thing have to do with all the patrols?"

"The pack wants to hurt Bella. I can't let that happen. Don't get jealous, Erin. She's still my friend and I promised her I would fight for her until her heart stopped beating."

"Can't she just get an abortion or something? I can't imagine her child being cute since it came from you know, a dead dude."

"That's what the leech wants as well but Bella sees that thing as her child and won't let anyone hurt it. And the leeches are going along with what she wants."

"So let her have the ugly kid."

"No, Erin. That thing is slowly breaking her from the inside out. It's killing her."

"So what happens now?"

"I don't know. I'm afraid I'll just have to sit there and watch her die."

I may not like Bella, I might even say my feelings for her have a strong resemblance to hatred but she is his friend. I wouldn't let something like that happen to Jackie either. I reached out to take his trembling hand in my own.

"I don't think she'll die. I can't imagine getting rid of her that easily."

"Erin." He sighed a little pissed off.

"Sorry but I think that's true. Besides doesn't she always go on and on about how she'll be with the vampire for eternity? Eternity is pretty hard to manage when you're dead. I really do believe she'll be okay."

"Thank you, Erin."

"But that doesn't mean I'm not angry at you for hiding this from me as well."

"What? But you said you wouldn't get angry if I was honest with you."

"No, I said I'd get less angry. There's a difference."

"So how long exactly are you going to stay mad at me?"

"I don't know yet. But I do know there will have to be a lot of grovelling from your part before I forgive you."

"I can do that." He smiled.

"Good, you can begin by finding me a really good excuse why I just missed my first two hours after three days of absence."

We got out of the car and I was already thinking how I would pucker my lips to make the teachers be kinder to my tardiness when Jacob pulled me back gently.

"There's still one other thing you don't know."

Oh, for the love of God. I don't think I can handle any more mind blowing information but I should use his probably temporarily honesty to my advantage.

"Someone imprinted on Zoe."

_Some people wanted her to stay mad at Jacob and others wanted her to forgive him. That makes it kind of hard to satisfy all of you but what do you guys think?_


	46. The day I'd do over again

_I love, love, love all the reviews. I'm so glad you all enjoy reading my story like I do writing it. Sometimes I actually stay up late because I just can't stop writing. Lucky for you, right? Anyway I'm so glad that so many people reviewed, thank you __**Zoexclaire, MysteriousAndChaotic, bubz, nene82743, Dreamcatcher94, lia, PhsycoPenguan64, Jinxfrost14, angel057, kikikiki, , jblc77, Wasipi, Luli Cullen, GiaLunaLove, 4eva Ninja-ard, Claire, dstj1432, XXWhispersInTheDarkXX, Elzbun, gawjesgrl190, kiona **__and __**secretprincess. **__That's 23 reviews! :D Let's try 25 next time okay? :p_

_Anyway I put a Jacob POV in this chapter in the hopes that you'll all hate him a little less (well, not really hate of course) because he is one the main characters and I want you all to love him. _

**Chapter 46**

Jacob's OC

I could grovel. I bet I'd be really good at it and it would all be worth it when Erin finally forgives me. Right now she's talking to me again but that's about it. She won't let me get close to her. The other day I tried to hold her hand but she jumped away two feet and snapped saying I shouldn't touch her. I haven't tried anything else since then.

I can't really be upset because she's mad at me. She has every right to be. I did screw up but I really genuinely thought Emma just wanted friendship from me. The rest of the pack agrees with me and also didn't saw it coming. All but one. Paul said Emma had been very obvious about it. When I asked him why he didn't warn me, he said he liked to see Erin lose her mind. That's when I phased and almost ripped his ear off.

Paul doesn't like Erin. He doesn't like any imprint, that's also what I told her but there's a reason why he dislikes my imprint more than the others. I just don't know what it is. Whenever I ask him, he completely blocks his mind and I can't find that reason. At first I thought he was in love with her. Why wouldn't he? She's amazing. I still can't get over the fact that all the other guys don't see that but I guess that makes me the lucky one. When I implied he might have been in love with her, he laughed and said he doesn't want to be anywhere near someone like her. That's when I phased and broke his front paw.

I've crossed Emma a few times in the hallway this week and she looked awful. Her nose and eye socket are both an ugly shade of purple. At first I was a little mad that Erin had used violence but then Embry told me Emma had really been pushing her buttons so I guess Emma apparently deserved it. Most of the time it really bothers me that Erin doesn't need me to stand up for her but on the other hand I don't want her to be as depending on me as Kim is on Jared. He doesn't even let her walk around the school by herself because she can't stand up to some girls bitching about her.

No, I think Erin is the imprint who can stand up for herself the best. At times like that I always notice how different she is from Bella. I do compare those two to each other. It makes sense, they're the two only girls I ever had feelings for. Though what I felt for Bella doesn't even compare with my feelings for Erin. Sometimes it's hard to imagine how I ever could have thought Bella was the one I was supposed to be with.

Erin and Bella couldn't be any different. Erin hates it when I'm being protective of her and Bella used to thrive on my protection. Erin hits people in the face who push her buttons while Bella usually lets it happen to her. I can count the times I've seen Bella angry on one hand when all the pack's hands aren't enough to count how many times I've seen a pissed off Erin. Yeah, she's a little spitfire, my Erin but that's exactly why I love her so much.

Emma on the other hand is an entirely different story. Sometimes she said things that could have come straight out of Erin's mouth. They have a lot of things in common but I won't tell Erin that. She'd never forgive me. And I'm still trying to make her forgive me my last mistake.

_Saturday afternoon_

_I needed to talk to Sam. He needed to stop his crazy idea of attacking the Cullens, of attacking Bella. The entire pack would stand behind Sam if he made that decision. I wouldn't. The bond that ties me to the alpha gets thinner every day. Sometimes it feels like I could break it just like that if I wanted to but that would mean I'd become alpha and I have no intention of doing that._

"_Sam?" I asked when I entered the crowded house._

"_He's not here right now. He's on patrol." Emily said from the kitchen._

"_Thanks Emily."_

_I went back outside, to take off my shorts and phase. The moment I was in my wolf form I felt a little more relaxed but that was only for a while. A few seconds later Jared and Sam's voices filled my mind._

"_Jacob? You're not on patrol right now, why did you phase? Is something wrong?" Sam said while his mind immediately filled itself with images of a wounded Emily. _

_That's another thing with imprinting. You're always worried something will happen with her when you're not around her. Embry is the worst._

"_You're not much better, Jacob." Jared teased._

"_Jared, take a hike. I have to talk to Sam."_

"_Too bad, I'm on patrol."_

_The stupid fucker was just begging for me to kick his ass._

"_Jacob, what is it you wanted to talk about?" Sam asked._

"_Bella."_

"_You know, I thought you'd stop talking about her when you imprinted but it's just getting worse." Jared sighed._

"_Shut up!" I growled._

"_Quit it, both of you. What about her, Jacob?"_

"_You're not really going to hurt her, are you? She's still human, she needs our help."_

"_She doesn't want our help. When are you finally going to get that?" Jared spat._

_If he opens his mouth one more time, I'm going to hunt him down until he's a three legged wolf. _

"_Oh yeah? I bet you couldn't if you tried!" Jared took it too far._

_I growled at him and saw the place where he was. Before I could run to where he was, Sam used his alpha voice to stop me. I could try and fight it but Bella was more important right now than kicking Jared's ass._

"_As if you could."_

"_Jared, shut up!" Sam ordered._

"_We're not going to do anything to her, at least not when she's still human."_

_I guess that's the best thing I can hope for. Once she's a vampire, the treaty will be broken._

"_Exactly."_

"_But that thing growing inside of her, we need to do something about it. We can't let it kill her."_

"_It's her own choice. But once that thing is born we'll take care of it."_

"_It will be too late then."_

"_What can I do, Jacob? She doesn't want to be helped, she wants this. And we can't let that thing live. My hands are tied." Sam sighed. _

_Through the entire conversation Jared was grumbling. I couldn't understand what he was thinking but images of Erin were going through his mind. Why was he thinking about my imprint?_

"_Someone has to. She's clearly not on your mind." He snapped._

_I felt a growl building up inside my chest. Who is he to tell me I'm not good for my own imprint?_

"_Come on, you hardly spend any time with her lately. We've all noticed that. The only girl on your mind these days is Bella, with occasionally Emma. May I remind you it's the girl you didn't think about who is your soul mate."_

_Normally I wouldn't really pay much attention to what comes out of Jared's mouth but Erin had said something similar to me last night. Before she took off she told me she had hardly seen me at all that week._

"_See?" Jared pushed._

_Damn, had I been neglecting my own imprint?_

"_That's what I'm trying to tell you. She must be jealous, right?"_

"_Me and Emma are just friends and she doesn't even know about Bella."_

"_I know you're just friends but you still spend more time with her than with Erin. I get jealous sometimes of Kim's parents because at night they see more of her than I do."_

"_That's stupid."_

"_More stupid than voluntarily spending time away from your imprint?"_

_Erin was jealous, she had even admitted it to me last night. And because I'm such an idiot I didn't reassure her. Why was Jared hitting the nail straight on?_

"_Because I'm a genius." He laughed._

_No, that's not it._

"_Jacob, phase back, forget about the whole Bella situation for a moment and spend the day with your imprint."_

_Sam was right, instead of standing here thinking the whole thing through, I should be spending my time with Erin. I phased back and decided to show my imprint how much I love her but I had a stop to make first._

"_Jacob? I didn't know you'd be coming by today. Come in." Emma spoke enthusiastically when she opened the door. _

"_No, I just came to tell you something."_

"_Okay, do you want to sit down?"_

"_That's not necessary. I just came to tell you I can't hang out with you anymore."_

_This was something I should have done ages ago. What had I been thinking yesterday? Why had I not promised Erin I wouldn't spend time with Emma anymore? It would have been the right thing to do. _

"_What? Why?"_

"_I'm really busy with my other friends, my work for Sam and that's all cutting in my time with Erin."_

"_I see, it's about Erin."_

_Of course it's about Erin. My whole life is about her._

"_She's jealous."_

"_So? Don't you ever get jealous?"_

_Emma was getting this ugly scowl on her forehead. I don't think I've ever seen Emma angry. There's no way it's scarier than an angry Erin._

"_Look, Erin is everything to me and if she doesn't want me to hang out with you anymore, that's what I'll do."_

"_You're really disappointing me, Jacob. I thought you had a backbone. I thought you were the kind of guy who doesn't do whatever his girlfriend tells him to."_

_I am. But Erin isn't just my girlfriend, she's my imprint, my soul mate, the reason I was put on this earth._

"_Why do you even date her? A guy like you can do so much better than her!"_

_She was showing her ugly side right now. She might be my friend but I won't tolerate anyone badmouthing my Erin. _

"_Don't ever talk about her like that!" I growled._

_Emma looked taken aback. I'd never been angry at her before and I'm pretty sure she doesn't know a lot of guys who growl when they get angry. I stepped away from the door and started making my way to my car when she suddenly hugged me from behind._

"_I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I just hate to lose my friend."_

_I'd hate to lose a friend as well but rather that than my imprint. I pulled away her arms and turned around to tell her we could still talk at school when I suddenly felt something warm against my lips. _

_I had not seen that coming at all. It took me a few seconds to realise what was going on, long enough for her to press her body against me completely. When I fully understood that Emma was kissing me, I pushed her away as fast as I could and almost made her fall on the ground._

"_What the hell are you doing?"_

_She didn't seem to take no as an answer because she just stood close to me again and put her arms around my neck._

"_Kissing you."_

_Before she could lean in again, I had pushed her against the door._

"_Don't ever, try anything like that again." I growled._

"_Quit the act, Jacob. I know you want this too. We have both wanted this since the day we met."_

_I sure as hell never wanted that._

"_The only thing that stood in the way was Erin and I'm sure you see now that I'm so much better for you. So just dump her and go out with me." She smiled._

_Had I been hanging out with a psycho? How could she have made such a story up in her head? I never did anything that might have implied that I liked her in that way. And isn't it plain obvious that I love Erin?_

"_Look Emma, I don't know why you think I would want this. I don't. I love Erin. You and I are, or were just friends."_

_I think it is time I leave and tell Erin how right she had been. Oh God, Erin! She's going to be furious! She had warned me and I thought she was just being jealous for no good reason. Apparently she had a really good reason. _

"_Jacob, wait."_

_I didn't listen to her anymore. I can't believe she deceived me like that and I can't believe I fell for it. I drove all the way to Erin's house, thinking of the right approach to tell her what just happened. I couldn't think of a right one. When I rang her doorbell, no one answered. My uneasiness that is a constant in my life on every moment Erin isn't with me, grew. What if something was wrong? I rang the doorbell a few more times but there was clearly no one at home. I walked around the house and like usually Erin's bedroom window was open. She should be more careful than that but it comes in handy right now. I got into her room but she wasn't there either. I walked through the entire house but she wasn't here._

_I was really starting to freak out right now. Where could she be? Jackie was with Embry so there's no way Erin is there and Andy is not speaking to her right now. Where was she? When I could think rationally again, I decided to try her cell phone. She didn't pick up till after the third ring._

"_Where are you?"_

"_Hello to you too. I'm at Port Angeles."_

"_How come I don't know that?" I freaked out._

"_Because I didn't tell you."_

"_I'm coming over right now."_

_I had to see her. I needed to make sure she wouldn't hate me for this._

"_What? No."_

_She didn't want to see me? What if she already knew what had happened and meant she never wanted to see me again._

"_Why not? Are you mad at me or something? Because whatever it was, I'm so sorry. I know-"_

"_Wow, what is going on, Jacob? Why are you freaking out like that?" she interrupted._

_Oh, so she didn't know. Great, that buys me a little more time before she starts hating me._

"_Because you don't want to spend time with me."_

_I have to admit, that hurts._

"_God Jacob, that's not it at all. I just need to spend time with Andy."_

"_You're with Andy?"_

_Good, he may not be a shape-shifter but he's a guy who won't make a move on her but still keep her safe. It was reassuring to know she wasn't alone._

"_Did you guys make up?"_

"_Not really. I'm trying to make him forgive me. Look I have to hang up right now. I need to find Andy. I lost him in the crowd."_

_And now I'm not reassured anymore._

"_Are you sure everything's okay?"_

_I couldn't exactly tell her over the phone that the girl she had warned me about and who I spend a lot of time with lately had kissed me, after I promised Erin I would be careful._

"_Yeah, I'll come by tonight. I need to talk to you."_

"_Okay, you're scaring me right now."_

"_It's nothing bad."_

_That depends on how she'll take the news._

"_I just – I really, really love you. I'll see you tonight."_

_I needed to talk to someone. I needed to talk to Embry. He'd get it. He's the one in the pack closest to Erin and my best friend so he would be a logical choice. When I got to his house, Quil was there as well with Claire. _

"_Jake!" Claire giggled and clung to my leg._

"_Hey Jacob. Why aren't you with Erin?" Jackie asked me._

"_That's kind of the reason I'm here. Embry and Quil, could I talk to you for a moment?"_

_Jackie's look said enough. She thought I was in a fight with her best friend but I wasn't, not yet._

"_What's up? You look a little pale, dude." Quil said once we went to the kitchen._

_I told them both what had happened that afternoon. They kept their mouths shut until the end of the story._

"_You can't tell her." Embry said._

"_What? Why not?"_

"_This will upset her. This will anger her. There's nothing to win with that."_

"_What do you think, Quil?"_

"_I think Embry is right. At least don't tell her right away. Show her first that she's more important to you than your friendship with Emma and when the whole Emma situation has cooled down you tell her what happened."_

"_I have to lie to her?"_

_I didn't like that idea._

"_It's not lying. You're just keeping something from her, for her own good."_

_That sounded better and Embry never gets into fights with his imprint. I should take his advice. _

_So that's what I did. That night I told Erin I wouldn't hang out with Emma anymore but when she asked me if Emma had been okay with it, I lied. I thought she had noticed my lie because she tensed up a little and looked at me a bit strange. But she didn't say anything about it so I guess she believed me._

"_Thank you. You're the best boyfriend ever."_

_I had never felt more guilty in my life._

In the three days following the suspension of Erin, the entire pack found out what had happened. The guys were trying to cheer me up by saying she won't be mad forever and that they also had no idea Emma had been after me. They almost all agreed on one thing. The same thing would have happened if I had told her from the start. They all agreed on that except one. Surprisingly enough it was Leah who told us to cut Erin a little slack. If there's anyone who hates imprinting and therefore the imprints more than Paul does, it's Leah. So why was she sticking up for mine?

Erin's POV

Someone imprinted on Zoe? As in Zoe Hurley? Oh, this is even worse than Bella carrying a dead man's child. Bella will become a vampire and Jacob will want nothing more to do with her and I'll be rid of her. Emma made the mistake to show her true colours to Jacob and so I got rid of her. But if someone imprinted on Zoe, that means she'll also become a part of the pack and then there is no way I'll ever get rid of her. Except... except if the one who imprinted on her is Paul. Oh, please let it be Paul. He hates imprinting like no one else. He'll never fall for her.

"Seth imprinted on Zoe."

Seth? Seth! I'm doomed. He loves imprinting and always hoped it would happen to him. He's also really loveable, there is no way she won't fall in love with him. The Hurley problem just got even bigger. Before you know it Bryan will tell me he proposed to Eliza.

_So who guessed it would be Seth? And are we liking Jacob a little more now? You should tell me in a review _


	47. Groveling Jacob & Bitchy Erin

_To celebrate getting 500 REVIEWS! I am going to give you the next chapter. I would love to have 600 reviews as well So of course I have to thank all the people who reviewed again this time: __**Wasipi, PhyscoPenguan64, harrellgirl, nene82743, wolfhapiness, jblc77, GiaLunaLove, ChelseaDagger14, MysteriousAndChaotic, hollywoodab, Mebs2010, Claire, Luli Cullen, Jinxfrost14, happinie93, kikikiki, Karla, secretprincess, angel057, bookfreak345 and ForeverTeamEdward13. **__So thank you all so much! I was a little sad that so many people had guessed it would be Seth who imprinted on Zoe. There goes the big surprise... But I hope you love this one as much as the previous ones. (Did you notice how fast I updated? Huh? Huh? :D)_

**Chapter 47**

It's a little mean to say but I'm very much enjoying Jacob's desperate attempts to make me forgive him. Just because we talked about it, doesn't mean everything will go back to the way it was so easily. Yesterday Jacob made my homework, paid for all my meals and kind of ran after me a like a little lost puppy. I do have to admit that at certain moments I felt kind of bad for what I was doing to him. He had tried to grab my hand and I did respond rather harshly yesterday. Since then he seems to be very cautious not to get too close to me.

"You're pretty mean, you know that?" Andy asked me when he sat down next to me in science.

"I know."

"You're also being a bit of a hypocrite."

"How is that?" I asked him.

"You got really annoyed that I wouldn't forgive you easily yet you're doing the same thing to your boyfriend."

"It's not exactly the same situation, Andy."

"I know but still."

"What are we talking about?" Jackie chipped in.

I hadn't even seen her enter the classroom. She sat down on my other side. I had been a little short with Jackie as well in the three days I had been suspended because I had just assumed that if Embry had known about the kiss, she must have know as well. I had been wrong. Jackie hadn't known. Apparently Embry is capable of keeping things from Jackie just not the other way around. That caused the first cracks in the perfect relation but they quickly talked it out.

"I was just saying she was being a little harsh on Jacob."

"I think you are too. He didn't even kiss her back."

'Will everyone just stop saying that? If I want to be pissed at Jacob, for the love of God let me be pissed."

"Someone's in a bad mood." Andy said under his breath.

"I heard that and I'm not. I just got to see what I did to Emma's face and I feel really good about that."

"It's such a pity you ruined her beautiful face."

Was Andy being serious?

"Boohoo, her face will return to normal soon." I responded.

"I still can't believe you hit her in the face." Andy shook his head.

"Yes, I'm a terrible person for punching her. People have made that very clear."

"That's not what I meant. I thought she'd be able to take you in a fight. Remind me to put my money on you next time." He smiled.

"Did you make a bet about that?" Jackie yelled/whispered.

"It was just an expression, Jackie." We sighed.

She can be a little daft sometimes, and naïve, and way too innocent for her own good. But that's a positive thing. She balances the two of us out.

"Hey, Erin. Emily asked me when you're going to come by her house again." Jackie asked me once we had started paying attention in class.

Why did I have to come by? I had gone there once. It's not that I don't like Emily but the entire pack likes to hang around her house.

"I don't know. Should I?"

"Of course. The whole pack pops by every now and then. That includes you."

I guess it does.

"I'll see when I'll pass by."

"Already arranged. We're going tonight."

"Do I get a say in it?"

"No."

I eventually agreed to go with Jackie though I was a little insulted when she told me the only reason she wanted me to accompany was because Embry had patrol. She said that wasn't the only or main reason but I have my own opinion. I'm glad I'm not glued to Jacob's side the way apparently imprints should but on the other hand Emma never would have been able to make a move on him if I had been glued to him.

I hadn't really given Zoe Hurley any thought lately but that all changed when I saw her talking to Seth in the parking lot. In my absence at school the two of them seemed to have reached the friends stage. Though they almost seem too awkward to really be called friends, they are already a lot further in their relationship than me and Jacob had been in the first days. But then again the two of us seem to be the exception to every imprinting rule.

When I wanted to get into my car, a voice stopped me.

"Hey."

I hadn't spoken to Adam in such a long time. My life had been pretty busy these last few weeks with lying to my dad, meeting the pack and slapping the bitch who came between me and Jacob.

"Oh, hi."

I can't say I'm not uncomfortable around the guy who confessed to me after knowing him my whole life that he was in love with me. But lately I hadn't seen much of him.

"Do you have a moment?"

"Euhm... I was actually going somewhere with Jackie right now."

"It won't take long. Please?"

I couldn't really tell him no. He had already heard that answer from me plenty of times. I saw Jackie getting in her car, probably heading over at Emily's. I could always come a little later.

"Sure."

I sat down next to him.

"Something really amazing happened to me and I just wanted to tell it to someone who knows how important this is."

"Okay."

"I got it. They are giving me the Jackson Scholarship."

The Jackson scholarship is this really prestige one that a lot of people are after. Adam would need it since it's his ticket into his school of choice after La Push High is over. But it would also mean he'd be going to Chicago.

"Oh my God, that's amazing!"

On impulse I hugged him and he slowly hugged me back. This scholarship is all he's been talking about this year. It's a big deal.

"Thanks Erin. Now that's the kind of reaction I was hoping for. My friends didn't really get it and my parents are out of town right now."

"Why didn't you tell Jackie?"

If there was one person who understood how important this was to him, it was his sister. After all the two of them live for achieving the means to get their dream education.

"I didn't want to rub it in her face."

"Rub it in her face? "

"Yeah, you know. It might be a little rude now that she won't be going to her college of choice."

"She's not?"

He turned around surprised.

"You don't know?"

He's right to be surprised, I obviously am. There seems to be something important my best friend forgot to tell me. There used to be a time we couldn't keep secrets from each other. I guess that all changed when the secrets got bigger.

"Didn't she get accepted or something like that?"

"Most people haven't gotten accepted or denied yet. She's not applying, at all."

"Why?"

As long as I've known Jackie, education has been a very big deal to her. She would get every pamphlet she could get her hands on about her dream college in New York. Me and Andy would literally get sick from how much she talked about it. And now she's just not going? It doesn't make any sense.

"Maybe she should tell you that herself."

You're damn right she will. I said goodbye to Adam and quickly made my way over to my car. She will be at Emily's house and so will I in ten minutes.

I knocked on the door because I'm just not that comfortable with just barging in like the others seem to do. Eventually Sam opened the door.

"Hey Erin, you could have just walked in, you know?"

I just shrugged. I don't think anyone in the pack understands the rules of being polite. I guess that all seems insignificant when you change into a wolf half of the time.

"Is Jackie here? She said she would."

"She's on her way I think. Do you want to come in?"

I might as well wait here for her. It was the point originally to spend time here. I could do that.

"Erin!" Jacob expressed enthusiastically.

I should have known that he would be here. After all he's not spending his time with Emma anymore and he promised me he wouldn't hang around Bella too much either anymore. I also don't allow him to spend too much time with me these days. There weren't a lot of options left.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for Jackie and she told me she'd be here."

He seemed disappointed that I didn't come here to see him. Embry on the other hand seemed even a little suspicious that I'd come all the way to talk to his imprint.

"What do you need Jackie for?" He asked me.

"That's not really any of you business, is it?"

Embry is not one of my favourite persons right now, not after he was the one who had advised Jacob not to tell me the truth and is the reason I didn't get the opportunity to hit Emma more than once. Though I have to admit he's also the reason I was suspended for three days and not longer.

"Doesn't matter. I'm sure she'll tell me."

"Maybe but I have faith that after you didn't tell her that Jacob had kissed another girl,-don't say anything-" I shushed Jacob when he tried to once again tell me it wasn't like that. "She'll throw something similar your way and you'll be the one left in the dark." I smiled.

"So basically you came here to make delicate matters even worse?" One of the younger wolves asked me.

"Yeah."

"You're my kind of girl." The boy smiled.

Huh, maybe not everyone in the pack was bad. I guess I shouldn't use Paul as a measurement for the rest of the pack.

"Hi Erin. It's been a long time since I've seen you." Emily smiled at me once she entered the room.

"Hey Emily." I answered.

"Do you want a biscuit?" She asked.

How come every time I see her, she's got some kind of food in her hand? It almost seems that all she does is feed the pack.

"No, thank you."

"I don't know if Jacob has already told you-"

"Probably not."

That earned me a very cold look from Embry and a deep sigh from Jacob. Emily just continued as if she didn't hear me.

"-but we're having a Christmas dinner with the entire pack. So of course you're invited to come as well."

"That's really nice but Christmas is something people usually celebrate with their families."

"Well, we're one big family as well but I understand. You could also come after your family dinner. Kim and Jackie will do the same."

"That would be kind of difficult. I'm going to Boston for Christmas."

"You're what?" Jacob yelled.

"Going to Boston. Are you deaf?"

"How come I don't know that?"

"Oh I'm sorry. Are we telling each other stuff now?"

It's a low blow and I know it but I still have some anger I need to get rid of and the best way to do that is by letting Jacob take the blow.

"Hi guys."

Jackie had finally arrived and I could finally get my answer.

"You came!" She smiled at me.

"I need to talk to you."

I got up and walked over to her.

"Okay, I'm just going to-" she still tried pointing in Embry's direction.

"No, now!" I said, pulling her outside.

"Why the hurry? What is so important it couldn't wait one moment?" She asked me once I pulled her far away from the house so no one would overhear.

"It's never one moment with you and Embry."

She shrugged. She knew I was right.

"So what is it you wanted to talk about?"

"Why aren't you applying for college?"

She looked really dumbstruck right now. She probably didn't think I knew. Well, I didn't half an hour ago.

"How do you know that?"

"Obviously not from you! Adam told me."

"You and Adam haven't spoken to each other since the kiss."

"We do talk about you and the fact that you're throwing your future away."

"This is not really something I want to talk about right now."

"Too bad, we are going to talk about it. This is important."

"A lot of things are important. Like for example forgiving Jacob."

"Don't change the subject. We weren't talking about him. We talk about him way too much. He and Embry seem to be the only thing we talk about these days. And honestly I'm getting so tired of having the same conversation with you again and again so this time we're talking about another, equally important aspect of your life."

"Fine, I'm not going to New York next year but I am going to Port Angeles community college."

"What? You're way better than that. You could get into any school you set your mind on."

"I don't want any other school."

"Why would you possibly want to go there? What does that place have to offer you?"

"It's the closest one to La Push."

"You've always said you wanted to go to New York. Why would you want to stay here?"

"Because Embry can't leave La Push and I can't leave Embry."

I hadn't thought about that yet. Going far away to college was never on my to do list but it's different for her.

"You're really going to give up everything you worked for the past years?"

"The alternative is giving up on Embry and that's just not an option." She smiled.

How can she do that? She worked her butt off all those years to get into a great school and now that doesn't matter to her anymore? Just like that?

"How do you that?"

"Do what?"

"Change your entire life and evolve it around one person."

"That's what imprinting does to you."

"I'm jealous."

"Of me? That's a first." She laughed.

She doesn't know that it isn't. There are plenty of reasons to envy her. She belongs on the rez more than I ever will, she's smart and beautiful and her family is not screwed up.

"I can't do that. Put so much faith in one person without knowing nothing bad would happen. Being imprinted on is not a guarantee that you won't get hurt. I learned that the hard way." I spoke softly.

"I know things aren't always easy between you and Jacob but...that didn't change your feelings, did it?"

"Of course not. Though sometimes I think it would be easier."

"Maybe but you wouldn't have that one person you love more than anything."

"I know."

"And right now I'm thinking I am not the person you should be having this conversation with."

She's right. I hate to say it but she is.

"Before you go, could you promise me you won't tell Embry?"

"He doesn't know?"

That's odd. Maybe their relationship had shifted ever since Embry kept something from her. If I get lucky she might even be capable of keeping secrets from now on.

"He'd just feel guilty. I will tell him, eventually. He'll notice when I stay but I should do this on my own terms. Please?"

"Of course."

I felt really good after our talk. There was something in Jackie's live that Embry didn't know about and I did. It was like the world had completely changed around.

I didn't feel like entering Emily's house again after I pretty much acted like a bitch so I just got in my car and drove home. When I got there, my dad was waiting outside for the car. Woops, I guess I lost track of time.

"Well, I know where you weren't."

"What do you mean?"

"Jacob's in the living room."

How did he get here so fast? He had been at Emily's place before. Then again I've learned there are some things I'll never get about shape-shifters.

"You could have told me that the suspension wasn't entirely your fault."

How? What? Huh?

"Your brother is upstairs and I paid him twenty bucks to keep an eye on you and the mass of muscles in my living room."

And with that wonderful speech he took off to work. He might as well have flushed those twenty bucks down the drain. There is no way Bryan will actually keep an eye on us. Not that it will be necessary, Jacob only gets a meter close to me now.

"When did you get here?" I asked Jacob once I got into the house.

"Just a few minutes ago. Your dad let me in though he's still not very fond of me. I think I might have made that even worse by saying it was my fault you got suspended."

"Why did you do that?"

"Just look at it as a part of my grovelling." He smiled.

At times like these it's hard to remember why I'm angry at him in the first place.

"Are you done punishing me yet?" He asked sincerely.

"Jacob, I'm not punishing you."

"Then what is it? What were you doing for example rubbing it all in my face at Emily's place?"

"This isn't about punishment and maybe I am getting a little carried away with this, but I'm not trying to make this hard on you. I'm trying to make it easier. Right now I just don't trust you the way I did before. I'm not making you go through this because I want to torture you, I'm making you go through this because I want you to prove to me that I can trust you again."

"I really screwed up, didn't I?"

"Yeah but not beyond repair. It's just going to take some time to heal and yes, you will have to take some low blows from me in the future."

"So Boston?" He changed the subject.

"Yeah, it's just a tradition. We go to my aunt Karen's house for Christmas and believe me when I tell you, I'd much rather not go."

"That bad?"

"You have no idea."

"For how long will you be gone?"

"One week."

"That's seven days." He whined.

"Actually, it will be eight. But they'll pass so fast you won't even notice my absence."

"I doubt that."

"I'll be back for new year's eve."

"Good, I get dibs on that."

"Deal." I smiled.


	48. Christmas like usual

_This time I did get over 25 reviews for the chapter! 26! Thank you everyone who reviewed: __**Jinxfrost14, kikikiki, harrellgirl, PhyscoPenguan64, Mythical Words, bookfreak345, Imprinting Magic, nene82743, happinie93, MysteriousAndChaotic, mrslisablack, Mebs2010, hollywoodab, Claire, Luli Cullen, Dreamcatcher94, HPlovaHGlova, GiaLunaLove, wolfhappiness, TalaxVampirella, zero0o0zero, Princess and ashey. **__And you're all so nice with your compliments, it's making me blush :p Well, here's the next chapter. Tell me what you think._

**Chapter 48**

Eventually the Christmas Holiday started and as much as I welcomed the prospect of two weeks without school, I did not want to go my aunt's Karen for an entire week. My dad had been forcing me these past few days to pack my things but I've always managed to postpone it. There was no putting it off anymore right now since I'm leaving first thing tomorrow.

I had already said goodbye to my friends and Jacob during the day so I didn't really expect him to show up anymore. Especially not since I've refused to open my window the last time he tried to get in. But there he was, standing gorgeous like always in my bedroom.

"I thought you might want some help with packing."

"Thanks but I'm almost done anyway."

He just nodded and sat down on my bed when I finished packing.

"So you'll be back on the 31st, right."

"Exactly."

"And you'll come to the party at Emily's, right?"

"I already told you I will."

Emily was not only hosting a Christmas dinner for hungry werewolves, she also wanted to give a party at New Year's eve with the pack. Evolving her life around those boys might get unhealthy at some point. And I had promised Jacob I'd at least spend that time with him and the pack.

"Should I come wave you off tomorrow morning?"

"No, I don't think my dad would appreciate that. Besides we already said goodbye."

"We could always say goodbye again." He said opening his arms, trying to get me to hug him.

I would miss him. Whenever we were apart longer than 24 hours in the past, I had always been too angry to miss him. Right now I'm not angry enough to not miss him.

"I'm not going to hug you." I smiled.

"I know, because physical contact might give me the wrong idea and think you're actually forgiving me." He sighed.

"Something like that." I smiled.

After a few more minutes I was done packing and I sat down next to Jacob who had been watching me the entire time.

"I've got something for you."

"What for?"

"It is Christmas Erin, you're supposed to give presents to the people you love."

"I didn't get you anything." I panicked.

I hadn't really given much thought to it. I'd never had a boyfriend before during the Christmas period so I had no idea I was supposed to buy him a present. But if I had taken a moment to think about it, it would have seemed logical to me.

"You didn't?" He pouted.

"But that's just because I didn't know we were going to do the whole present-exchanging thing. If I had known I definitely would have bought you a present, I would have gotten you an awesome present!"

"That's okay." He smiled.

"No, that's not okay. I will get you a present. I'll get you something from Boston."

"Just start with opening this present right now."

"It better not be in the same price category as your last gift."

"Don't worry. I didn't spend a lot of money on it." He laughed.

Should I feel a little insulted by that? Probably not since he already spend so much of his cash on the necklace he gave me which by the way I still wear every day, even when I feel like strangling him.

"What is it?"

"Me telling you would really ruin the whole excitement of opening up your present, don't you think?"

"Maybe." I shrugged.

He obviously didn't wrap the gift himself since it was done so nicely and I think I detect Emily's hand there. When I finally got it all unwrapped, and that really wasn't easy, there was a frame in my hands. The picture in it was me and Jacob sitting close together. I was focusing on something farther away while Jacob was looking at me.

"When was this taken?" I asked him.

"At the bonfire, a few weeks ago. We were listening to my dad telling everyone the legends."

Oh, right so that's why I seem so focused. I remember that evening really clearly. It was the first time I met Billy and I had been so nervous. It seems so silly now that I look back at it.

"I love it! Thank you."

"I know it's not much. I was planning on buying something bigger but since you'll be leaving soon, I had to find something to-"

"Stop talking. I already said I love it."

He smiled back at me and once again I had to suppress the urge to press my lips against his. Staying angry with him and making him grovel was getting harder every day. By the time I get back, I think all the anger may have left my bones.

"So, I guess this is goodbye?"

"Yeah."

"I really don't want you to go." He sighed. "The idea of you being far away without anyone to protect you is killing me."

"Where do you think I'm going? Boston isn't exactly a jungle where survival of the strongest applies as the only rule."

"I wouldn't know." He grumbled.

"I won't even be doing a lot anyway. The only place I'll actually see is the twenty rooms in my aunt's mansion."

"Mansion?"

"Something like that. She's pretty loathed. Married some rich lawyer for his money."

"How is she related to you?"

"Well, I'm proud to say she and I have absolutely nothing in common." I smiled.

As much as Jacob tried to stay, I eventually had to send him away. I'd be leaving soon tomorrow morning and I didn't feel like getting on a plane as a zombie.

My entire week went exactly as planned: me and Bryan got into an argument right before we got on the plane about something trivial like the seating arrangement or something. That little debacle was followed by my father intervening and we all had to endure a very annoying flight to Boston. Aunt Karen picked us up at the airport in her very look-at-me-because-I'm-a-star manner. She is one of a kind, a kind I'm happy isn't very common where I live.

The rest of the week was filled with Aunt Karen trying to get me and Bryan on her side, against our father. She didn't have to try very hard with my brother. Her husband, Harold, we only got a glimpse of him in the mornings and if we were still up after midnight. Like I've said before, it was exactly like all the previous years.

Jacob called me every single day...twice...every hour. That may be a little exaggerated but my phone has been ringing nonstop since I left La Push, not all from him. Andy met this girl right before I left for Boston and he's apparently in dire need of some feminine advice. The reason he's calling me and not Jackie is because her advice didn't do any good so far with this girl.

Aunt Karen had once again pissed me off by mentioning my mother. Bryan loves hearing about her but I'd just like to put everything concerning her in a box and burry it somewhere I'll never find it again. I had locked myself in the guestroom that she had prepared for me. When I picked up my phone, I had one voicemail from, of course, Jacob.

"Hey Erin, you're not picking up but I guess that shouldn't be a surprise since it's Christmas day."

We had unwrapped gifts earlier and eaten delicious food until we couldn't close any of the buttons on our pants anymore. Now I had already spend too much time with my family in a closed off space.

"I'm at Emily's right now, you know...the Christmas party. And I thought I'd just call you and say: 'Merry Christmas'."

He's too cute with that nervous tone in his voice!

"Soooo...Merry Christmas. Jackie told me to say hi to you as did the entire pack."

Yeah, I think that means the entire pack minus the ones who don't like me which doesn't even leave half of the pack.

"I miss you, I always miss you of course but then you're just a walk away. I can't tell you how often I've been close to booking a ticket to Boston but I thought you might not appreciate it."

I would have loved to see the look on my aunt Karen's face if Jacob had showed up here. If my father already doesn't like Jacob, there's no way he would have won my aunt over.

"I should leave you to it now. I hope you're having a great time over there but not too great of course. You still have to come back. I love you and I'll see you soon."

Being here has put my relationship with Jacob in a different perspective. Seeing my aunt's marriage with the coldest man on earth and how they hardly talk and have absolutely no feelings towards each other, made me realise that it's not that bad to love someone so much that you act like an idiot.

Our flight back was on the 31st December so as soon as we landed, I had to go to the New Year's eve party at Emily's. Jacob had suggested that he'd come and get me at the airport but to preserve the new trust my father has in me, I told him no.

When we finally got home, I had to walk all the way to Emily's. My brother would celebrate the beginning of a new year at his best friend's place and my dad would celebrate it at a party hosted by Jackie's parents and needed the car. The walk was long, cold and snowy so I was exceptionally relieved when I finally saw the house.

"Erin! We thought you got lost or something. Jacob's freaking out that you weren't here yet." Sam said when he opened the door.

"No, I just had to walk here since we have the share one car with three people."

"It's not safe to walk alone at night. You of all people should know that. Why didn't you call someone to come pick you up?"

Oh, another person who thinks I need to be protected. I didn't comment on what he said and just walked right through to the living room where everyone had gathered.

"Erin!" Jacob shouted out with such a goofy smile on his face that he seemed like a five-year old kid.

He came running in my direction but suddenly stopped. Judging by the look on his face he must have realised I didn't like him touching me before I left for Boston and that it might not have changed in one week.

"Euhm... Hi." He smiled standing in front of me, wiggling his feet in a nervous way.

The entire room was very much aware of the awkwardness between the two of us. Once they were done staring at us, they suddenly all engaged in a very interesting conversation.

"How was Boston?"

"Not as bad as it could have been but I'm glad I'm home again." I smiled at him.

I really was. Seeing Jacob made me smile more than I have these past few days. And things might still be incredibly awkward but I know that everything will work out fine because Jacob might not know it yet, but I have forgiven him days ago.

I talked to some people about what they did during the holidays, all with Jacob hovering over me. When we were close to midnight, we all went outside to the beach to light some fireworks. Paul and Seth had taken in on themselves to be responsible for the light show and were already setting up everything.

"Come with me for a moment." Jacob lead me away from the people twenty minutes before midnight.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Somewhere you'll see the fireworks better and we actually get the chance to talk privately."

The walk we made was way longer than I had expected and I was surprised it wasn't past midnight yet. We must be going up because the walk had a lot of resemblance to a climb. Finally we came to an open place which had a great view over La Push, the place where I had agreed to go out with Jacob during the field trip. The view was even more beautiful at night.

"You brought me here?" I asked him.

"Yes, I thought that if anything came close to being 'our place' it's this one."

Our place. I like the sound of that. I just smiled at him and wrapped my arms around him. He seemed very surprised that I was voluntarily holding him.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Hugging my boyfriend. What else?" I shrugged.

"Can I hug you back?"

I laughed. There are just some streaks of his character that will never change. I took his arms and wrapped them around me. I think I heard Jacob sigh but it might just be my imagination as well. I couldn't hear much anyway because of the fireworks in the background.

"Happy New Year ,Jacob."

"Happy New Year, Erin."


	49. The Clash

_Pretty fast update, right? Well, don't get too used to it. I was a little disappointed about the decreasing amount of reviews but I was still really happy with the ones I got so thank you __**MysteriousAndChaotic, nene82743, PhsycoPenguan64, Imprinting Magic, Dreamcatcher94, bookfreak345, kikikiki, Luli Cullen, Alenerien, Claire, happinie93, angel057 and BarbieRachel. **__But I forgive the ones who didn't review because honestly not a lot of things happened in the past chapter so now I wrote you one with lots of excitement so I expect a lot of reviews Someone made a good point; Erin still hasn't given Jacob a gift for Christmas mainly because I suck at finding gifts for people, not even imaginary gifts. So I would totally appreciate it if you could give me some ideas for that._

**Chapter 49**

I spend the next few days balancing Jackie, Andy, Jacob and my family and for once I was actually doing great at it. School would start again in a few days and I was spending today at Emily's. I have taken a great liking to her. She was spending the day in her kitchen, like usually and I had decided to help her out.

"How can you spend so much time in the kitchen for boys who don't even know another way of eating food then inhale it?"

"I like taking care of the pack and someone needs to do it." She smiled.

"They do have parents to take care of them, you know." I said while licking of the frosting she had made for her cupcakes.

"Well not all of them."

"What do you mean?"

She looked at me for a moment, the way she did before she told me the story of Bella and Jacob. She looked like she was about to say something and she didn't know if she was allowed to say it.

"Not all of them have someone to take care of them." She smiled sadly.

"Like who?"

"Well, Seth and Leah's father died of a heart attack a while ago and even though their mourning period is already over, their mother is more occupied with building up a new life than cooking her children a meal."

That's right. Harry Clearwater had died of a heart attack over a year ago. I remember the funeral. We didn't go because none of us knew him well but the entire rez had been in a mourning state. He had been very loved.

"Embry doesn't even know who his father is and his mother works her butt off to take care of the two of them. She hardly sees him but thinks he's in some kind of trouble since he started hanging out with the pack."

Jackie had already told me this. I hope I didn't damage his relationship with his mother even more when he got expelled because of me.

"And you already know Jacob's mother died and we all know Billy nor Jacob can cook very well."

True, when I had gone to dinner at their place, Billy had just warmed up spaghetti that Emily had made for them.

"And Paul doesn't have anyone either."

"How's that?"

I think I'd like to know a bit more about the guy who has turned glaring me to death into a sport. Maybe it would make me understand him a little better. Probably not. He'll still stay a jerk to me.

"His father left when Paul was still really young. His mother isn't a great woman either. When Paul turned 18, she packed all her things and left. He's living alone at that house now and he's an even worse cook than Billy or Jacob."

That's kind of sad. But then again that's not a good enough reason for acting like a total jerk. I mean parents leave their kids sometimes and you just have to adapt to it. You don't have to punish other people for what they did.

"Plus I like taking care of the pack, makes me feel like I'm needed around here."

That's something I've heard before.

"Well, it's really cool that you do that. I wouldn't want to cook for all of them." I said while eating up the muffins we had made.

"Just make sure you leave some for them. You don't want to see how they get when they're hungry." She smiled.

Hungry shape-shifters can't be a pretty sight. I stayed with Emily for another hour but the house was starting to fill itself. I decided I would go by Jacob's place tonight and cook for him and Billy. Emily had been right, they don't eat a good meal too often and as a good girlfriend it should be my duty to make sure Jacob eats well.

I had stopped on my way over to them at the grocery store. I kind of wish I hadn't right now because a certain bitter shape-shifter was there as well. I hoped he'd just ignore my presence so I could continue shopping.

"What a surprise to find you here, away from Jacob. That's a real shocker!" he said sarcastically.

So much for him leaving me alone. I tried to ignore him but he just pisses me off so I turned to him.

"What are you doing here, Paul? This is a place for civilised people. Not really your scene." I bit back.

He got an even uglier expression on his face. I think I preferred the sneer. He growled at me. Yeah, growled. At me! Once again reminding me how animalistic the guys I hang out with are although 'hang out' might be open for interpretation.

"You are such a bitch!" He growled right before he walked out of the store.

Hell no. He can't just call me a bitch and then walk away. It's courtesy to at least give me the change to insult him back. I dropped my bags and followed him out. Shape-shifters are incredibly fast when they want to Jacob had told me. If that's the case Paul doesn't really want to because by the time I got outside he was only on the border of the woods. I thought he'd be gone by now. I quickly chased after him, probably not the best thing to do but I was so sick and tired of him treating me like I'm the worst thing in the world.

"Who do you think you are?" I yelled at him once I had caught up with him in the woods.

"Who I am? I'm the only one who's honest enough to say it out loud how much the entire pack hates you. The rest just says it behind your back!" He yelled so close to my face, I think I might have felt some spit on my cheek.

"That's not honesty. You're just plain rude."

"Of course we don't want that! Nobody is allowed to be rude to the amazing Erin Thompson, right!" He spat.

"Don't make me sound like the bad one. You obviously have some kind of problem with me and I'm not going to take your shit anymore. What is your problem with me anyway?"

Our voices were reaching a very high volume. Good thing we're in the woods right now or the entire town could have followed our conversation if that's what you want to call it. I personally think that's still too civil of a term.

"Everyone has a problem with you! You take pleasure in tearing people down, first Jackie and now Jacob! You're like a cancer! All the people you get involved with turn into this pitiful mess and you don't give a shit." He growled though it was louder and angrier than I'd ever seen him do it.

That did it for me. I hit Paul in the face. It could have been made out of stone because that's what it felt like to my hand. This sharp pain shot through it and Paul didn't seem to have felt it at all. But it did trigger a reaction with him. He started shaking like he always does when he's pissed off and he growled. He growled?

"If I'm such a terrible person then how come I was able to keep one parent and with you they both ran for the hills?" I screamed.

I took it too far. I realised it the second those words left my lips but it was too late to take them back. I couldn't apologise either because the guy was gone. Instead there stood a massive grey wolf charging towards me at full speed!

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The pain was overwhelming. I couldn't think clearly and everything had happened so fast. One moment the grey mass had floored me and the next there was excruciating pain in my right arm. I was lying all alone on the snow covered forest floor. There was no sign left of Paul or the grey wolf. I couldn't see a lot anyway. The pain brought tears to my eyes that blurred my sight. But even without my sight I was very much aware of how much blood I was losing. The white snow was painted blood red around my arm. I wanted to move but I couldn't. I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness when I heard someone say my name. I couldn't see who it was but he , obviously a he, was panicking. The last thing I felt before passing out was someone lifting me up in his arms. The man had such a high body temperature that there was no doubt in my mind this was one of the pack. The warm body heat was making me lose consciousness...

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"We need help!"

The bright light was blinding me but I assumed by the people in white coats surrounding me that I was at Forks Hospital. Heaven might be a little too exaggerated, they had no wings or anything. The man holding me put me down on something and another man took his place.

"You're not touching her!" I heard someone growl.

Definitely a member of the pack. Why would it be a problem that the doctor touches me? It's his job to help me.

"Aaaaahh!" I screeched.

Someone had touched my arm and the pain completely blew me away. How can anything hurt so badly? This isn't even human anymore. I saw the pale doctor and the pack member rushing to my side. Before I passed out again I recognised the man as Sam.

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It took me a moment to realise that the buzzing in my ear was actually the sound of people talking. I wanted to open my eyes but it felt so heavy and too tiresome. There was still a shooting pain in my arm that got worse every three seconds.

"Au." I moaned.

Immediately a nurse stood by my side, smiling down at me.

"Hello Erin, you're in Forks Hospital. Do you remember what happened?" She asked me.

I do but I don't think she'll believe me if I tell her the guy I was fighting with turned into a giant wolf because he's a shape-shifter and clawed at my arm. She'd lock me up in a mental institute. I shook my head.

"You were attacked by a bear. Luckily Sam Uley was passing by and brought you here. You're very lucky he found you." She smiled.

Somehow I've got the feeling luck had nothing to do with it. Sam was standing at the end of my bed, smiling awkwardly.

"I'll go tell the doctor you're awake. I'll be back soon."

She left the room and now there was only me and Sam.

"Luck, huh?"

"Not really. You do remember what actually happened, right?"

I nodded. I've got the idea he does as well.

"I was on patrol when Paul phased. I was too late to stop him. I'm sorry, Erin."

When he was talking to me, he wasn't looking at me. He was looking at my arm. There was a really big gash staring me in the face. It had a lot of resemblance to Emily's scars but only grosser and bloodier. Seeing the look on Sam's face I knew he saw the resemblance too and was probably thinking about how she had gotten those scars.

"Where's Jacob?"

I want him here. I sort of need him by my side right now and that was kind of a surprise to me. I'm still a little girl sometimes so when my arm is nearly ripped off, I always thought it would be my dad I'd need the most. I guess I got one part of imprinting right.

"Jared went to look for him but I'm sure we won't see any of them soon."

"Why not?"

"There is no way Jared will let Jacob in here when he's upset and in danger of phasing and since he just heard one of his own pack mates attacked his imprint, he's not going to calm down soon."

You know what's funny, or weird? I'm more upset over the fact that Jacob won't be here soon then I am about the fact Paul went wolf on me.

"Did anyone call my dad?"

"No, I thought about doing that once you woke up. So I'll do that now."

In Sam's absence the nurse came back and told me the doctor was going to stitch my arm. They used sedation to numb the flesh but when the needle pierced my skin it still hurt and there was no one's hand to hold.

"Au!"

"I'm sorry, Erin." The doctor said but still continued stitching my arm up.

The doctor was a very handsome man. He had blond hair and pale skin. He reminded me of someone but it wasn't until I saw his eyes, that I realised who that someone was. You've got blue eyes, grey ones, green and brown but I had never seen anyone with golden eyes. Had I?

"You're a Cullen."

That's where I've seen those eyes before. Edward had the same ones but different from that is the fact that this man doesn't scare me the way my first confrontation with Edward Cullen did.

"Yes, I am. Though it says so on my name card, I think you know my name because of a different reason." He smiled.

He wasn't scary at all, he was really nice even.

"Jacob says I'm too smart for my own good." I smiled lightly accompanied with a wince when he resumed his work.

"He might be right."

"No, he's not. If I was smart, I wouldn't have slapped an angry werewolf and then I wouldn't be here."

I heard loud voices coming from the hallway. I couldn't understand what was being said but one of those voices definitely belonged to Jacob. A moment later the door of the room I was in opened and revealed a panting Jacob. He took one look at my arm and started shaking. Strangely enough it doesn't scare me when Jacob does it.

"Calm down, Jacob." Dr. Cullen said.

But seeing the doctor who happens to be a leech standing so close to me, definitely didn't help to calm him down. Instead he just started shaking more and growled.

"Jacob! You're not helping."

Me saying those words was apparently the way to make him stop shaking. But now he was just looking at me and my arm with this pained expression on his face. Maybe I did prefer the angry look.

"I'll come back later." Dr. Cullen said before disappearing.

Jacob kept standing close to the door and seemed almost afraid to come any closer. Maybe he thinks I'm scared of him because he's a shape-shifter as well and I was just attacked by one.

"You can come closer, you know." I tried.

"I'm so sorry." He almost groaned.

"What do you have to be sorry about? You didn't do anything."

"Exactly! I didn't do anything. You were attacked and bleeding to death and I wasn't there for you. I didn't help you."

"It's not like you knew." I attempted to make him feel better.

"If I had been with you like I'm supposed to, I could have stopped him. I could have stopped this." He pointed at my arm and winced.

"Not that I'm agreeing with you but where were you?"

If he answers this question with 'Bella' or 'Emma' or any girl's name, he totally deserves to beat himself up.

"Sleeping."

"What?"

"I ran patrols the entire week you were gone so I didn't get a lot of sleep and I was on patrol again last night. I wanted to catch up on some sleep because I wanted to take you out on a date tonight. But I learned my lesson, no more leaving your side."

"So you're just never going to sleep again? That doesn't sound like a good or realistic idea."

"I can do it."

"Somehow I believe that but you don't have to."

"Of course I do. Look what happened: I left your side and you ended up at the hospital."

"This is not your fault. I'm the one who slapped an angry shape-shifter in the face and told him he deserved his parents leaving him."

"None of this is your fault." He urged.

"Well, it's got to be someone's."

"Yeah, it's Paul's."

Speaking of him. What happened to him? I can't imagine him sinking his claws in my arm and then going to grab a smoothie or something.

"Where is he by the way?"

"If he knows what's good for him, on his way to Mexico. When I get my hands on him-"

"Jake..."

He stopped talking and stared at me with an open mouth. Fine, I know the gash is hideous and I can't be looking really great right now but there's no need to react like that.

"You called me Jake!" He practically panicked.

"So? That's what people call you."

"I know but you don't. You always call me Jacob. Always. You've never called me Jake before."

He seemed genuinely upset that I didn't use his full name this time. Why was he making such a big deal about that when we were just talking about him killing Paul? He sighed and sat down in the seat next to the bed I was lying on.

"What happened to us? We used to have this amazing connection and now you call me Jake."

"We didn't lose that it's just been... a little suppressed lately."

"By us?" He asked.

"Maybe a little more by me that by you."

He just looked at me and for the first time in a while I didn't know what he was thinking. So I asked him what it was since we had promised to tell each other everything now and ask when we want to know something.

"I was thinking that this is a huge step back. You haven't even forgiven me for the last thing."

"Yes, I have."

"Really? When?" He asked me surprised.

"Around the time my plane came back from Boston."

"That was three days ago."

"I know. I was waiting for a better moment."

"And this is it?"

It was. Jacob was here when I needed him the most and no Bella, Emma or anyone else can change that. I think I needed to realise I was still the most important thing in his life. I don't doubt that now that I see the look on his face. This boy loves me even more than I love him.

"Yes. Plus the doctor will be back soon and stitch my arm up. That hurts and I could really use someone to hold my hand."

"That someone being me?"

"Yes, please."

For the next hour Jacob didn't let go of my hand when Dr. Cullen fixed up my arm. Somehow that made it hurt a little less. My dad eventually showed up when Sam had gotten a hold on him. I thought he'd twist the whole thing around and find a way to blame this all on Jacob but I was pleasantly surprised. When Jacob eventually left the room, my dad went after him. I wasn't too happy with that so I asked him what he was going to do.

"I'm going to thank the boy who sat by my daughter's side when I didn't."

Maybe my dad and Jacob could get along and maybe this whole situation would have a positive side.

_You know what? A lot of reviews back someone mentioned this should happen. I already had this in mind but I found it funny someone else had the same idea. _


	50. Imprinting nightmare

_Hi! I'm starting to think I'm getting addicted to writing :p But that's good news for the people who like my story I guess. First I'd like to say I totally appreciate constructive criticism on the condition that it's constructive. Just telling me the story suck and is uncreative is not a way to be constructive. So don't like it, don't read. You have a point you'd like to see improved, please feel free to tell me but there's a correct way to do that. Anyway i love all the people who like my story and I always get a big smile on my face while reading the reviews so thank you __**PhyscoPenguan64, embleu44, Neith4Weiss, Dreamcatcher94, kikikiki, BlackhawksPimp, bookfreak345, happinie93, wolfhappiness, MysteriousAndChaotic, niam, ArcticGrl, GiaLunaLove, Imprinting Magic, Mebs2010, AnonymousJinx209, MangooBean, Jinxfrost14, Luli Cullen, WhishingGirl56, nene82743, ForeverTeamEdward13, XORayleneXO, sabdoisdvsi, Alenerien, BarbieRachel, ChelseaDagger14 and Coidjs. **_

_Sorry for the people who got tricked last time into thinking it was a really long chapter :) _

**Chapter 50**

That same night I left the hospital with a bandaged arm. Jacob stayed with me that night but when I woke up at 3 o'clock in the morning, I was cold. I'm never cold when Jacob is lying next to me. I sat up in bed to establish that indeed, Jacob wasn't lying next to me. Instead he was sitting on my desk chair, watching me.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"Making sure you don't crush your arm in your sleep. You move around a lot." He stated

"And you can't do that from here?" I asked, pointing at the spot next to me.

"No, because then I'll fall asleep and what if I crush your arm in my sleep?"

I couldn't help but laugh a bit. He didn't appreciate that because he looked offended.

"I'm sorry but you do know that you are allowed to sleep, right?"

Honestly, I don't think he does.

"I'll sleep later."

"When?"

"Later." He shrugged.

He was being stubborn for no good reason. I got out of my bed and stood in front of him. I put my good hand on his shoulder and looked him straight in the eye.

"If you don't go to sleep soon, I'm not going to sleep either."

"You have to sleep!"

"And so do you."

I took his hand in mine and practically dragged him all the way to my bed. Who knew it was so hard to get a guy in your bed? I laid down on my side and pulled Jacob next to me. I placed my wounded arm very far in front of me.

"See, there's no way you'll crush it now."

He still didn't seem very reassured because he didn't relax for the rest of the night. But when I woke up in the morning he was asleep. Good, I was already afraid he'd never sleep again.

School would start again in a few days and by now the entire town had heard I'd been attacked by a bear. Some people even wanted to put up a hunting party and search for the bear. They were all really afraid their kids might be next. Luckily the tribe counsel was able to talk the idea out of their heads. Luckily because I was starting to fear they'd shoot one of the shape-shifters, mistaking it for a bear.

Jacob would spend most of his time with me. When he wasn't running patrol he watched over me. It was as if he was afraid I might get a heart attack whenever he wasn't around. On one of those rare moment he wasn't with me, Paul came by my house. I had been reading a book for school when my brother called me down, saying a guy was at the door for me.

"Hi."

I was surprised to find him standing before me. I had assumed I'd never see him again. Apparently he had come back one day after the incident and Jacob had tried to break his neck but Sam's alpha voice stopped him.

"What are you doing here?"

I didn't say it in a mean tone because honestly, I'm not angry. Opposite of Jacob, I think the biggest blame for what happened is on me. I did and said things I never should have. Plus I know what happens when a shape-shifter shakes in anger. I should have know better than throw such an awful comment at him.

"I wanted to see if you were okay and apologise." He mumbled.

"Do you want to come in?"

He seemed surprised when I invited him in my house but entered anyway when I opened the door a little more. We sat down in the living room and stayed in a quite uncomfortable silence. The thing that made it even more awkward was probably the fact that he kept staring at my bandaged arm.

"Was there something you wanted to say?" I asked him.

"Yes, I'm very sorry for what happened. I-"

"I'm sorry as well."

"What do you have to be sorry about?" He asked.

"For slapping you in the face and saying those awful things. Not my finest moment."

Now that we had both apologised, the conversation had bled out. We just don't have a lot in common or something to talk about.

"Well, then I guess I'll go. Sam's making me do patrols non-stop except for when Jacob is scheduled."

Paul already got up when a question popped in my head. Something still needed an answer for me.

"Can I still ask you one question?" I stopped him.

He seemed a bit reluctant to answer my unspoken question but sat back down anyway.

"You hate me, don't deny it. I'd just like to know what awful thing I did to deserve it."

"It's nothing personal." He sighed.

"How can it not be personal when you call me a bitch?"

Since I'm a person and he offends me, I'm pretty sure that counts as personal.

"Well, maybe it's a little personal." He shrugged.

Was that all I was going to get as an answer? Because that is not even close to satisfying. He's going to have to do a lot better than that.

"So?"

"I wouldn't hate you if you weren't an imprint."

Okay, I had already gotten that part. He hates imprinting and therefore the imprints but why me more than the others? I've never heard him call Kim a bitch before.

"And?"

"And I guess I may have a bigger dislike for you than I do for the other imprints."

Bigger dislike? Dislike is a word you use to describe food that's not yummy and TV-shows that don't amuse you. I don't think the term 'dislike' applies here.

"Because?"

"Because you are impossible to please. Jacob is not one of my best friends but even I take pity on the guy when I see how much he has to try to get almost nothing in return."

Great, even Paul who doesn't give a crap about my relationship, thinks I'm the reason there are some large bumps in the road that is me and Jacob.

"And that makes you hate me why?"

I still wasn't really seeing what he was trying to tell me.

"I'm just a little af-" He suddenly stopped.

"Afraid?" I tried to help him.

"Not afraid! I'm an indestructible vampire-ass kicking shape-shifter. What do I have to be afraid of?"

"I don't know. Caring?"

It hadn't even been a guess or something of that sort. I pretty much blabbed it out but my comment made Paul freeze and glare at me. Oh my god.

"I get it. You don't hate me because I'm giving Jacob a hard time. You hate me because I'm your ultimate imprinting nightmare."

The fact that he didn't talk back for a change was my answer. I had hit the nail straight on. When he eventually got tired of me just gaping at him, he got up and tried to leave the house.

"Wait a minute. I'm right, aren't I?"

"No! How can you be my imprint nightmare if I didn't even imprint on you?"

"Because maybe one day you will imprint and you're just afraid that she won't give in to you as easily as Kim or Jackie did. You're afraid she'll have a strong resemblance to me."

"That's bullshit." But he wasn't fighting my comment as strongly as he did before.

"No, it isn't. Even an indestructible vampire-ass kicking shape-shifter gets to be afraid sometimes."

This entire time I've judged Paul as the guy who keeps grudges for no reason but now that I see him with his guard down and his expression as open as I've ever seen, there's just a scared guy standing in front of me. And I made it worse without knowing so.

"Would imprinting really be that bad?"

"It's not the worst thing in the world. It works for people like Jared and Embry. But I've seen what it did to Sam and to Jacob and I don't want that."

I sighed. I can't change his mind about this.

"But I was wrong to take it out one you." He smiled even a little though it looked a lot more like a grin.

"In a way you should be happy, you know. Since Jacob already imprinted on me, there's no way you'll get stuck with bitchy me." I smiled and he even laughed a little as well.

Paul wasn't all that bad I guess. I can't really see myself becoming best buddies with him but I think I could learn to tolerate him.

Paul left soon after that. Good thing he did because Jacob showed up a few minutes later. Paul hadn't only made me realise that his hatred towards me wasn't exactly personal, he also made me realise something else. When I let Jacob in, I kissed him. Not just a little peck on the lips, a real kiss and God, I had missed those lips.

"What? Huh? What?" He blabbed.

I laughed. You would have too if you saw the dumbstruck expression on his face mixed with that blissful smile.

"Don't get mad." I tried to warm him up to the news that Paul had come over.

"I'm not mad. I'm completely okay with you doing that again." He grinned.

"Funny. That's not what I was talking about... Paul was here earlier."

"What?"

And the smile was gone.

"I told you not to get mad."

"Of course I am angry that the guy who tried to rip off your arm, had the nerve to show up at your house! What did he want anyway? A taste of the other arm?"

There was rumbling in his chest but he wasn't growling or shaking. That's a first. Usually when he gets this kind of angry, his shape-shifter side gets more prominent.

"Calm down. I for one am glad he came."

Now he was just gaping at me like I am a nut job. I probably am. What person is glad the guy who attacked them came to their house?

"Glad? How can you be glad?"

"Because talking to him made me realise something." I said while gently putting my arms around him. It's funny how such a small gesture calmed him down almost completely.

"What's that?"

"That I got lucky." I smiled.

"Lucky?"

"With you. I'm very lucky that you love me."

"Okay?"

"What I mean is that if I have to believe Paul, you hated imprinting almost as much as he did. And I'm just really happy you were eventually glad that you did imprint on me."

"Glad? I was excited, over the roof, beyond happy,-"

"I got it." I smiled before kissing him again.

"I still don't like the fact that he was here."

"I know but it's not like he'll make a habit out of visiting me."

He was still a little pissed but that's nothing a few good kisses can't fix. He would be spending the night here, of course not with my father's approval though he was invited for dinner. He would just sneak into my bedroom like usually after dinner.

"Thank you for inviting me to dinner, sir." Jacob said politely when we sat down at the table.

My dad just nodded. He's still not a big fan of Jacob but felt like he should be nicer to him since he had been there for me at the hospital. Bryan on the other hand seemed to be completely warming up to Jacob. I don't know why but he seemed to like my boyfriend. Except for the fact that he kept asking Jacob why he would possibly want to date me. Jacob didn't get mad at him for it but never really reacted when Bryan said such a thing. Good, because else he would have gotten angry eventually.

"You've got a motor cycle? Awesome!"

"Not awesome, Bryan. A lot of people die riding a motor cycle. They're awful machines." My dad commented.

Me and my dad have the same opinion on things like that. I just hope Jacob won't make the mistake by saying that I had actually been on his motorcycle before.

"Have you ever been on it?" My dad asked me.

"No, of course not and I even told Jacob he should get rid of it." I beat Jacob to it when I saw him open his mouth.

"Really? You told me to get rid of it?" He said.

"Yes, remember? Right after you told me you owned one." I urged.

"Right... I must have forgotten that conversation. Weird."

Jacob is not even trying to back me up here. It's like he wants my dad to realise I'm totally making this stuff up as I go.

"Can I ride it?" Bryan asked Jacob.

"No!" Me and my dad both said at the same time.

Bryan was of course not happy about that and left soon after, to his room. That just left me, my dad and Jacob sitting at the table.

"Jacob, why don't you help me clean the dishes?"

"Great idea, dad. We'll clean the dishes with the three of us. It will be over in no time."

"No, Erin. You can go to the living room. Me and Jacob will do the dishes."

Oh, that's not good. Who knows what could happen when the two of them stay in the same room for longer than one minute without me supervising them? I thought I'd get my answer when they finally left the kitchen after twenty minutes but Jacob almost left immediately and all my dad said was: 'We've gotten to know each other a little better.' That doesn't tell me anything!

Luckily I got to know what happened when I went up to my room and waited for Jacob to climb or jump through my window. But when I asked him the same question he gave me the same lame answer.

"Your dad just wanted to learn a bit more about the guy who's dating his daughter." He shrugged.

"Yeah right. What did you guys really talk about?" I got annoyed.

"Nothing special really. Just about my dad and my sisters and school. Normal things."

"Really?"

In my head I had been playing these scenarios where my father threatened Jacob to stay away from me. I guess they were a little further away from the truth than I had thought.

"Yes, and then he told me that even though he respects me a little more, he's still waiting for the day you'll break up with me."

"I knew it!" I shouted.

"It wasn't that bad you know. I kind of expected him to say something like that." He shrugged as if it was nothing but when your girlfriend's father tells you he wants his daughter to break up with you, that has to do something to you, right?

"Me too but it's still not fair to you." I sighed while lying down on my bed.

"Don't worry about it." He smiled at me.

But I was worried about it. What if my dad never accepts Jacob? He and I are going to be together for the rest of our lives and I don't want my dad to hate him for that long.

Jacob must have noticed that I was a bit lost in thought about my dad and decided to distract me. He placed feather light kisses on my cheeks, my collarbone, my neck.

"That tickles." I laughed.

He just grinned some more and kissed me on the lips. Before I could properly respond he had turned as around so that I was lying on top of him right now. After a while the kiss got kind of...well...hot. And I did something I had thought about doing for a long time. I took off my shirt before fumbling with the buttons on his.

"Wow, Erin. What are you doing?" He gently but firmly pushed me away.

"I...Euhm... I was just. I tough we could... "

Did he not understand what I was trying to say? I tough it had been pretty obvious what I had been trying to do when I took off my shirt. Did I really have to say it out loud so he could reject me because the pushing away already gave me that message. I didn't have to hear him say it.

"Erin, we haven't really talked about this before."

"It's okay. We don't have to talk about it." I said, getting off Jacob before he could stop me.

"Wait. We do have to talk about it." He sighed while running his hand trough his short hair. "It's not that I don't want to because I do. I really do but I don't know if it's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Maybe you haven't noticed but I have a pretty violent nature."

I wouldn't say that. Shape-shifters have a violent nature but not Jacob.

"I'm just afraid that if we do that, I'll lose control and hurt you."

Are you kidding me? Because my boyfriend is a shape-shifter he's one of the hottest guys I've ever met but I can't touch him? The world is cruel.

"Are you saying we can never have sex?"

"No, of course not. We can but maybe I should ask Sam how it works exactly."

It was really hard not to laugh at those words.

"But if you do that and we do it. Euhm... I'm just..."

Wow, I'm not very good with words lately.

"I've never done that before." I blushed.

"And you think I have?"

"You haven't?" I asked him surprised.

When he looks like that surely he must have had the opportunity before.

"No, who would I have done it with anyway?"

I can't say Bella didn't cross my mind and even Tara did for a split second.

"It will be new for the both of us." He smiled at me while pulling me close to him again.

"So, if you ask Sam and he says there's nothing to worry about, we can...?"

"No."

"What? Why not?"

"Well, first of all I don't want us to rush into this."

"Rush into it? Seriously? We take this relationship at the slowest speed possible and I'm pretty sure you're the one for me since you imprinted on me and all that."

He just smiled and continued.

"Secondly, I don't think it's a good idea to have our first time when you can't even use both arms."

"What?"

"We're not going to do it when your arm is still bandaged. We'll talk about it again when it's all better and I've spoken to Sam."

"But the doctor said that will take more than three weeks."

"Then that's how long we'll have to wait."

"Three weeks!"

That is kind of an eternity, especially since lately I've been having vivid fantasies about this guy. Not that I'd ever tell him that but this is something I've wanted for a while now.

"Is that a problem? You think you can keep your hands of me for that long?" He teased.

"Fine but just know that the longer we wait, the higher my expectations will be and the more chance there will be for you to disappoint me."

"You're being mean"

"You started it."

So for the rest of the night, we lay in my bed, not having sex. Something we'll be doing for the next three weeks. Three weeks! He better be freaking amazing at it.

_I hope I didn't make Paul too much out of character. I hope you liked it. _


	51. Where the Hurleys are

_First of all I wish you all a Merry Christmas! (I know it was yesterday but it still counts)And I hope you all got great gifts and ate wonderful food (my favourite part of Christmas._

_So one of the reviewers made me realise that I used to update mostly on Mondays (at least for me it's Monday) and I decided it would be better if I updated at the same moment every week so from now on I'll update every Monday. _

_Of course I need to thank all the awesome people who keep reviewing my chapters. I love all of them:__**nene82743, Imprinting Magic, MangooBean, Dreamcatcher94, Lo, MysteriousAndChaotic**__ (Thank you for pointing out the Monday updates to me)__**, pookydun, Jinxfrost14, kikikiki, Luli Cullen, happinie93, PhsycoPenguan64, GiaLunaLove, bookfreak345, Mebs2010, angel057, AnonymousJinx209, taydortot and Alenerien!**__ Thank you so much for reviewing!_

_I hope you like this chapter as well and is it still necessary that I suggest you review? _

**Chapter 51**

Today was the first day of school after the holidays, the holidays where I had been supposedly attacked by a bear which caused people to go crazy with worry for their own children. There was no doubt in my mind that people I would normally never speak to would come up to me today, gauging at my arm. I was not looking forward to it.

Jacob had promised to come pick me up today but due to a shift in the patrols, he had to run the border this morning. Since my arm is completely useless right now, I can't drive a car myself and I was obligated to rely on my brother's driving skills.

When we arrived at school, he tossed me the car keys once he got out and told me to meet him at the car later. I didn't get out immediately. Another reason I was dreading going to school today was because of Seth. He has gotten this ridiculous idea in his head that I should befriend Zoe so I could help her through the imprinting period like apparently Jackie had done with me. How had Jackie been a help in that situation?

Eventually I had to leave the car which I did. I was actually glad the first person I ran into was in no way connected to the supernatural.

"Hey Erin. How are you?"

Andy had visited me the day after I got out of the hospital, making one bear joke after another, pissing Jacob off to no end. But I for one was glad he didn't stare at my arm with such guilt and disgust most people seemed to do.

"Great, I love being the centre of attention." I grumbled.

The second I started walking to the school, people were staring at me and didn't even have the decency to act like they hadn't been staring when I looked at them.

"You don't?" He asked me fake-shocked. "You should be loving it. You're their hero, you survived a bear attack. You know, in my mind and maybe those of others as well, I imagine you fighting this bear in a Tarzan-like manner. Is that how it happened?"

"No."

"Way to ruin my fantasy. But seriously, how's the arm?"

"Honestly?"

"Yeah."

"It hurts like hell, even when I'm just walking like right now. The doctor gave me painkillers so I can't even imagine how I would feel without them. And people staring at me as if I'm some kind of freak show is not making me feel any better."

I was glad I could finally tell someone that. Around my dad, Jacob and pretty much everyone else, I pretended as if it didn't hurt that much anymore because else they'd feel even more guilty than they already do.

I thought this day couldn't get any worse until I ran into Tara Greenwell. I had sort of forgotten about her since enemy number one had been varying between Emma Hurley, Bella Swan and Paul Lahote lately. Compared to them Tara is just a minor hindrance.

"Hey Thompson! I heard you got attacked by a bear."

Who hadn't heard? But the menacing smile on her face made me realise she would just use this as the punch line to some joke.

"Too bad he missed. Your head is still attached to your fat body." She sneered.

I wanted to rip her head off and I wouldn't miss. Thankfully Andy was sensible enough to pull me away from her before I tried to hit her. That would not make my arm feel any better I'm sure.

"Thanks."

"Don't worry about it but why do you always let her get under your skin like that?"

I just shrugged because honestly I don't know. Emma got under my skin because she was an actual threat to my relationship, Bella had been the girl Jacob was in love with for so long so obviously she gets to me as well and Paul calling me a bitch when we're supposed to be a part of the same 'family' aka the pack definitely affects me. But I have no idea why Tara's big mouth does as well.

"I'm already glad I haven't run into Emma Hurley today. If she says something lousy as well, don't pull me back. She should be hit."

Andy didn't laugh nor did he comment on the fact that with one arm bandaged up there is no way I could beat her. He just looked at me uncomfortably and surprised.

"You haven't heard yet?"

"Heard what?"

"The Hurleys moved away."

"What?"

"Yeah, apparently it was just too hard to adjust here and it put a strain on Mr Hurley and Mrs Hayworth's relationship. They've decided to take a break and the Hurleys moved back to LA."

How come I don't know that? Oh, Jacob was dead! So when I was greeted by a smiling Jacob at the end of fourth period, I punched him in the stomach with my good hand. Not hard of course, no need to disfigure this one as well.

"What was that for?" He asked a little offended while rubbing his stomach.

"For not telling me the Hurleys moved away. Aren't you ever going to learn? Don't keep things from me! And why would you not tell me this? It's good news! I would have been happy about it. The day I find out the Hurleys moved away should be a happy day and your lying ruined it." I scoffed.

"What are you talking about?"

"The Hurelys moved away and you didn't tell me." I said, poking between his ribs, and not in a ticklish way.

"They're gone? When did that happen?"

"Oh, you're just as much in the dark as I am. This is new." I wondered out loud.

"How do you even know this?"

"Andy told me. You mean, you didn't know?"

"How would I have known? I don't talk to them anymore, remember?"

"True but didn't the pack know? Seth could have told you."

"Oh shit, Seth!"

That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

"He's going to be crushed. His imprint moved away!"

Damn, I hadn't tough about that yet. I had just been so glad they were gone, I hadn't even thought how the people who did like them felt. Oh shit, like my brother for example. Did he know? It would explain his foul mood these last few days but I thought that was just because he has to help me cook since the accident.

"Oh man, I don't want to be the one to tell him this."

"Maybe he already knows?" I tried but since Seth had still been happy last time I saw him, I'm guessing he doesn't know.

"Maybe who already knows what?"

Both me and Jacob were caught by surprise by the pack member. I was just glad it was Jared and not Seth.

"Don't do that. You scared me." I glared at him.

"Sorry but who were you guys talking about?" He said while not sounding sorry at all.

"Seth. The Hurleys moved away. Zoe Hurley has left La Push." Jacob told him after greeting Kim who was being hugged close to Jared.

"Fuck!"

"Jared!" Kim sounded appalled.

"Sorry. But are you guys sure? There's no need to get Seth upset if you don't even know it's true."

"We could ask the school. They'd know if the Hurleys are gone." I tried.

"That's a really good idea, Erin." Jared said.

Don't sound too shocked, you might bruise my ego.

"Okay, me and Erin will do that. You go tell Sam." Jacob took the lead.

Huh, he's kind of hot when he's taking charge like that. It must be the alpha blood rising to the surface. I like it.

Me and Jacob were on our way to the school secretary when I realised I still had to bring my books back to my locker. Of course Jacob was chivalrous enough to accompany me, I would have been really pissed if he hadn't. Good thing he was there because with my books in one hand, I didn't have one left to actually open the locker.

"Do you need some help with that?"

"You do realise that's a stupid question, right?"

When he didn't respond and just kept staring at me, waiting patiently, I sighed and tried a different approach.

"Jacob, would you please open my locker for me?"

"You can ask things nicely?" He gasped.

"Don't push it."

He laughed and opened my locker before taking over my books and locking them away. I had a question in mind that I wanted to ask him but I don't think the hallway is the best place to talk about it. I decided it would have to wait a little while longer. We needed to know if the Hurleys were really gone first.

"Excuse me. Could you tell me if the Hurleys are still attending this school or not?" I asked Mrs Brown, the school secretary who by the way is a very unhelpful woman because she wouldn't give me the answer I wanted.

"That's confidential. I can't tell you that." She said and then she just resumed her work.

Well, she wasn't very helpful and I guess this was just a bad idea. I wanted to give up and just get something to eat in the cafeteria but Jacob wouldn't leave.

"Miss Brown, would you please be so kind to make an exception for us?"

Miss? As if anyone would believe that but it did make her blush or maybe that was just the really hot guy standing so close to her.

"I would be really grateful if you could help me with this little thing." He smiled his million dollar smile that is supposed to be reserved for me though I do realise it's a little less sincere than usual.

Jacob's approach had a lot more success than mine because almost immediately she told him that the Hurleys had indeed left La Push and thereby the school as well. I just wish that didn't give him a reason to smile so proudly at me, as if he had just done the impossible.

"You're a little slut, you know. Flirting with the school secretary?"

"You're just jealous." He grinned.

"No, I'm just pointing out that it's gross. You could be her son."

"Come on, I just smiled at her." He smiled.

Please, as if he doesn't know what his smile does to the female population of the world. He knows it very well else he wouldn't be using it on me right now.

"What? We got what we wanted?"

"But at what price? Where is your dignity?" I teased.

"Very funny." He smiled. "Are you hungry?"

"I'm starving!"

Going to the cafeteria had sounded like a great idea to my grumbling stomach but my mind seemed to disagree. Entering the cafeteria me and Jacob bumped into someone leaving. Not that bad unless the person is Paul, which it was. It was the first time Jacob had seen Paul since he had tried to break his neck so I' was nervous about how he'd react. I might have forgiven Paul for what happened, Jacob didn't. Not even close. Jacob growled at Paul while shoving him against a wall. And the weirdest part was that Paul wasn't even really fighting him.

"Stop it, Jacob."

But I'm just a feeble little human and even when I put all my strength in it, I couldn't get Jacob to release his iron hold on Paul's neck. It took both Quil and Jared to pull Jacob away from him.

"Calm down, Jacob." Quil tried but it was no use.

Just looking at Paul, made Jacob lose it. There is no way he was going to calm down now. He was growling and huffing and that didn't scare me. It's weird how the incident with Paul had made me completely unaffected with a shaking shape-shifter. You'd think it's the other way around. Eventually Jared and Quil dragged Jacob outside so he could cool down. That left me alone with Paul and the entire cafeteria gaping at us. This is a moment where Paul's bad reputation and his awful sneers come in handy.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine." He grumbled.

And Paul was gone.

"What was that about?" Andy asked me when I sat down next to him since I didn't feel like sitting with the rest of the pack. They're just as bad as everyone else with all the staring.

I can't really tell him that it hadn't been a bear attack but just Paul going wolf on me. I hate lying to Andy but it was necessary to keep the pack's secret.

"I don't know." I shrugged.

He didn't seem to believe me but let it pass and returned to eating. After lunch I still had three more classes in which I couldn't pay attention because I was wondering if Jacob was okay. I had already send him a text every ten minutes but there was never an answer. Eventually I tried to find out myself. I skipped my next and last class to find out where Jacob was. For all I know he could be in class right now but I've got the feeling he isn't. I didn't get very far though because I ran into another pack member in the hallway. This time it was Seth.

"Hey Erin." He smiled at me.

Okay, so he obviously doesn't know that his imprint has moved away. I am so not going to be the one to tell him. Even though it's hard to believe, Seth might get angry and I already have a giant scar running over my right arm. I don't need another one.

"Hi, have you seen Jacob?"

"No, not since Quil and Jared dragged him out to the woods but do you know where Zoe is? I haven't seen her all day and she won't answer any of my calls. I'm worried that something might be wrong."

Oh, man. Am I supposed to lie to his face right now?

"No, I haven't seen her. Sorry."

That was not a lie. Before he could ask me something else, I told him I had to go back to class. Obviously I couldn't since I had skipped it. I would only get punished if I showed up now so instead I decided to use my time, waiting in the car since I did have the keys. One hour later Bryan was finally there and we could get home. Usually we spend the entire ride in silence but I decided to break that tradition.

"I heard the Hurleys moved away."

He had obviously known because he wasn't shocked at all. But he did tense up a little and it was obvious this was not a conversation he wanted to have, especially not with me.

"I'm sorry. I know you really liked Eliza."

"I didn't."

"But you were dating her."

"And now I'm not." He huffed.

"But-"

"Just drop it, Erin." He shouted.

Okay, I know when to keep my mouth shut around my temperamental brother but this time I might actually do it.

_Who's happy they're gone?..._


	52. What doesn't kill you

_Another year, another chapter so I must begin with: Happy New Year! I hope 2012 will be a great year for all of you._

_Now a little comment on the reviews I got; first of all: THANK YOU __**Dreamcatcher94, happinie93, MysteriousAndChaotic, Jinxfrost14, MangooBean, Peacelover56, catchmeflying, Imprinting Magic, Luli Cullen, Bookfreak345, wolfhappiness, kikikiki, GiaLunaLove, ChelseaDagger14, AnonymousJinx209, nene82743, K.C.B 16, LittleBear, Alenerien and xxyangxx2006**__! Then in a review I got told that Paul's real story isn't that his parents just left but in my story it is. That's the beauty of writing, I can make the story as I want it. But I know it sort of kind of bugs me sometimes when other writers twist the truth in their fanfics completely so sorry if that bugged someone. Enjoy! _

**Chapter 52**

After my conversation or my attempt for a conversation, Bryan had locked himself up in his room and I was left all alone to cook dinner. That is a very hard, almost impossible task to do with only one useful arm. I was pretty much letting everything fall on the ground that we had stored in our fridge when the doorbell rang. I didn't really want to open it but maybe it was someone who could help me in the kitchen.

"Jacob!"

I honestly hadn't expected him at the door. I'm glad he was though.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

"I should be asking you that question. I can't believe I left you all alone with Paul."

Paul is not a threat to me but Jacob doesn't see that. What happened before was an unfortunate clash of events that will never happen again because I will never hit and insult Paul again when he's already shaking.

"Do you want to help me cook?" I changed the subject.

"I would love to help but I'm not really good at it. We could just order pizza instead."

Normally I would be against that idea because this household needs some healthy food once in a while but I was just not in the mood to drop more things on the floor in my attempt to cook.

"Okay."

After the pizza's had arrived (one for me, one for Bryan and three for Jacob!), Bryan had taken his to his room. I wasn't too insulted by that since it means I get to spend time alone with Jacob. We sat in the living room, me eating my pizza and Jacob shoving his down his throat. One thing I'll never get used to is the way he eats. I can't look at him or else I'd lose my appetite.

"So I talked to Sam today."

"About what?"

"What we talked about last night."

"Oh, right so... what did he say?"

"He said we had nothing to worry about. I won't hurt you." He smiled.

That's something I already knew but at least Jacob seemed to be reassured now.

"That's all he said?" I asked since I can totally image Sam giving Jacob this big speech about

responsibility and being prepared. Man, I wish I had been there during the conversation.

"No, he said some other stuff as well but I'm not repeating that."

"Why not?"

"Because that was by far one of the most awkward conversations I've had in my life and I have no intention of reliving it."

He was blushing! I really wish I knew what Sam said now but I can always try and get it out of Jacob later.

"So does that mean we can?"

"Is your hand still bandaged?"

"Yes." I pouted.

"Then we can't."

It's not fair. This is the first time he and I are in an actual healthy relationship and now he won't have sex with me? On the other hand, he's a guy so what are the odds he'll actually resist for three weeks?

"We could always-" I shifted a little closer to him.

"I'm going to change the subject now and we are not bringing it back up until that hand is all fixed up."

"What? But-"

"Seth knows."

"Seth knows we're not having sex for at least three weeks?"

"No, he knows Zoe is gone."

Ouch, that must have really hurt him especially since he didn't get a goodbye or anything.

"Is he okay?"

"Of course he's not okay, Erin. His imprint is gone and he has no idea where she could be."

I might not know what it's like to lose your imprint but it's not that hard to imagine it hurts.

"Couldn't you have picked another subject? This one is depressing." I sighed.

"I thought you might want to know what had happened."

"No, it's good that I know. Now I won't bring it back up."

"Fine, we could always do something else than talking."

"Like a movie?" I teased.

"Well, there's that idea but I was thinking along the lines of-"

Jacob had taken my face into his hands and brought his lips closer to mine. But right before our lips would touch, I pulled back.

"Oh no. If I'm not getting sex for the next three weeks, you're not getting kissed for that long."

"And how long do you think you'll be able to not kiss me?" He grinned.

As it turned out, I lasted a whole day. Yep, not very impressive. I know. But wouldn't you want to kiss those lips every chance you got? And he was totally doing it on purpose, grinning like a big idiot whenever he was standing close to me. I have absolutely no restrain. Unfortunately Jacob does. This afternoon I would return to the hospital and then my hand would be all fixed. In the three weeks that passed by Jacob didn't even come close to slipping up. What is wrong with that guy? Why couldn't he be driven by hormones the way every other teenage guy is?

"So you'll drive me to the hospital after class, right?" I asked Jacob for the third time today.

"Yes, I haven't forgotten it in the twenty minutes you haven't brought it up."

"Just making sure that you'll be there when the three weeks are finally over." I smiled.

"You do know that we won't be doing anything that requires getting our clothes off the second you leave the hospital, right?" He teased.

"Well, of course not the second I leave it since we have to drive home first." I grinned.

"I mean it."

"I know. We're not rushing into anything." I sighed.

"I'm doing this for you. We don't even know if your hand is completely healed."

I just rolled my eyes. For the past week I've been telling him that my hand doesn't even hurt that much anymore and I can use it to the fullest now. Of course I'm still on painkillers and I haven't really put a lot of pressure on my arm but I know it's healed. He just won't believe it until he hears it from the doctor's mouth.

We were heading to the cafeteria for lunch when suddenly Jacob's phone rang. He checked who it was and then put it back without answering.

"Aren't you going to answer that?"

"It's not important."

"How would you know?"

"Because lately Seth only calls to whine about Zoe. Even I'm getting tired of it." He sighed.

I felt sorry for Seth. He's a mess: he's missing classes and he used to be the only one set on attending as much as he could, apparently it's torture to share a mind with him these days while he used to be the only one without miserable thoughts according to Quil and whenever he does show up at school, there's never a smile on his face anymore. It's almost making me wish the Hurleys would come back. Mrs Hayworth is not any better. My dad says she looks terrible as well.

"Pick up your phone." I sighed.

"What? Why?"

"Because Seth needs someone to talk to."

"Why me? I've listened to him before. I understand the pain of not having your imprint with you but he already used up all of my sympathy."

"Fine, give me your phone."

If Jacob didn't want to help out his friend in need, it was up to me. I didn't really want to hear Seth whine about Zoe Hurley but I felt kind of guilty for not telling him that day I had run into him in the hall.

"Are you sure you want to do this? A phone call with Seth is never shorter than half an hour." He still tried while holding the phone in my reach.

I took the phone after rolling my eyes at Jacob once again. I was sort of expecting a sobbing Seth on the other side of the line, not a panicking one.

"Jacob! You have to come over here! Right now!"

"It's not Jacob. It's Erin."

"Where's Jacob? Put him on! Now!"

Any other moment I would have argued and be totally appalled by the fact that Seth, sweet Seth, just yelled at me, but I had never heard Seth like that and it was kind of frightening me. So I quickly handed the phone back to Jacob.

"Seth? Wait, what happened?"

I didn't understand a thing of what was going on except that whatever Seth just told Jacob really upset him. I hadn't seen Jacob like this since I'd been in the hospital. Then again that hasn't really been a long time ago but still. It must be something bad to get that expression on his face. Only when he finally hung up, did he look at me.

"What? What's going on?"

"Bella's gone into labour."

"That's a good thing, right? That means the thing will get out of her."

"No. The thing is eating its way out of her and breaking every bone in her body. She's dying."

"Well...What's going to happen now?"

"I don't know. The Cullens are there but... what if they can't save her?"

It literally pains me to say what I'm about to say but not as much as seeing that devastated expression on his face.

"What are you waiting for? You should go see her."

"Erin..."

"I mean it. You should leave before I change my mind. You're not going to calm down before you know for sure that she's alright so...just go."

He stared at me as if he was torn between leaving and staying here with me.

"Just go!"

"I love you." He said before bursting out of the school, rushing to Forks.

I am so going to regret this decision.

For the rest of the day I couldn't stop wondering what was going down at the Cullen house right now. Was Bella dead? Was she okay? What did I even want her to be? It's probably very wrong of me to think this but life and my relationship would be easier without her. That doesn't mean I want her to die but maybe I wouldn't terribly mind if this forced the Cullens to change her into a vampire. At least when she's one of the undead, Jacob won't want to be around her anymore.

Obviously I hadn't though my decision through because three hours later I was standing in an empty parking lot, waiting for a ride that was never going to show up. Why did I tell Jacob to leave? I couldn't exactly walk all the way to Forks hospital and there is no one I can call. My dad is working, Jackie is with Embry and Andy is grounded because he snuck out last week to hang out with his new girlfriend. I need more people I can call in times of need.

"Do you need a ride?"

The last person I thought would ever come to my rescue is without a doubt Paul Lahote but there he was, offering me a ride and there wasn't even a trace of his cocky grin.

"What's the catch?" I asked.

There is no way he just happened to be at the school and felt the need to give me a ride. He hasn't even spoken a word to me since Jacob tried to beat him up. That was three weeks ago. I'm almost starting to miss him calling me a bitch every two days.

"No catch. Jacob needed someone to come pick you up."

"And he chose you to do that?"

Somehow I find that hard to believe.

"Well, there weren't a lot of people volunteering to sit in a car with you and I figured I owe you."

"I might almost think you're warming up to me." I grinned.

"Just get in the car." He grumbled.

The ride to the hospital was awkward but not to the degree I thought it would be. Sure, we didn't talk but at least nobody was insulting, hitting or disfiguring someone this time.

"How's the arm?"

He was staring at the road ahead when he asked me but I think he just didn't want to look at my arm anymore. He must hate my presence even more these days now that I walk around with a permanent reminder of the way he lost control.

"It doesn't hurt anymore."

"Good."

That's pretty much all we said for the rest of the ride. When we got to the hospital I told him he could leave. My dad works here anyway so he could bring me home. Paul might not have said it but he was glad to leave. Good, the last thing I need right now is Paul staring at my arm with that guilty, self-loathing look.

"Are you ready?" The nurse asked me before pulling off the bandage.

I was kind of disappointed that it wasn't doctor Cullen this time but I guess that makes sense since his daughter-in-law might be dying right now. Too bad because I was starting to get nervous and I thought he was a nice man. This nurse definitely wasn't calming me with that hyperactive smile on her face.

Finally she pulled off the remaining piece of bandage still covering up my arm. But when I looked at it, I felt bad. I expected a scar, sure but one more similar to the one I had on my foot after stepping on my razor once but this was just... still so hideous.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't get it. The doctor said it would be healed after three weeks."

"It is healed. It looks even better than we thought it would. You've taken good care of it." She smiled.

I did take good care of it. I took my medication without skipping it once and I changed the bandage every two days like the doctor told me. Why did it still look so awful?

"This can't be healed. It looks like the make-up out of a slasher movie."

"I'm sorry sweetheart, but this is how it's going to stay."

It's not going to get better? I am stuck with these awful scars running down my arm for the rest of my life? I felt like crying except that the nurse wouldn't stop staring at me and I can't actually cry when someone's watching me. So it wasn't until I was standing in a dark parking lot all alone that I let the tears roll down my cheeks.

"Sorry for making you wait, darling. I had to do something at work and it took a little longer than-"

My dad's smile completely disappeared when he saw me crying next to the car.

"What's wrong? Did the doctor say anything?" He panicked.

"No, the nurse even said it looked better than they expected it to." I sobbed.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Exactly that. It looks as good as it ever will and it's hideous. I made one mistake, dad and now I'm stuck with this ugly scar forever." I cried.

Without saying anything more, my dad hugged me and that just made me cry even harder. I couldn't even tell him the reason I had gotten the scar and he had known I was hiding something yet here he was, comforting me like he has for the past seventeen years.


	53. Renesmee Cullen

_Thank you __**Dreamcatcher94, ForeverTeamEdward13, MysteriousAndChaotic, imprinting Magic, PhyscoPenguan64, wolghappiness, GiaLunaLove, peacelover56, AnonymousJinx209, kikikiki, Mythical Words, Luli Cullen, nene82743, JessiRoad, xxyangxx2006, lestrangegirlwriting1539, SweetBlackAngel16, CayleeRae, angel057, purplewolfsoda, happinie93, bookfreak345, SparkBomb'sFaith, KarenIsAFanpire and ChelseaDagger14. **__I don't have a lot of time lately to write or even update but I though I had to keep my promise of updating every Monday. And no worries because I actually already have the next chapters done. But you'll have to wait till next week :D_

**Chapter 53**

Jacob left me a voicemail that night to tell me what had happened. Bella gave birth to a little Hybrid named Renesmee Cullen. Honestly who calls their daughter that? Poor girl will be picked on her entire life with such an awful name and since she's immortal, that's a very long time. Bella's life was lost in the process but Edward had been in time to change her into a vampire and right now she's transitioning. That's pretty much all Jacob's message said and that was three days ago. I haven't heard from him except the evening texts to wish me a good night. I'm starting to think it was a really bad idea to send him over there in the first place.

Eventually I got fed up with not hearing from Jacob and decided to go nagging at Sam's place. When I arrived over there the entire pack was present but they all seemed to be on edge.

"What's going on?" I asked them once I walked in. Yep, they've converted me into no longer knocking on Emily's door but just bursting in like everyone else.

They all stopped talking the minute they noticed me as if they had all forgotten I even existed these days. Only Emily seemed to be normal but her greeting was still a little less spontaneous than normally.

"Why are you all staring at me like that?"

They didn't really respond but I heard Brady tell Sam that I could go talk some sense into him.

"Talk some sense into who?"

"You weren't supposed to hear that." Brady mumbled.

"It's not a bad idea." Quil responded.

"We can't let her go there. It's dangerous even if he's there." Sam said.

"What else can we do? We're sort of stuck." Leah bit back.

Am I the only one who doesn't understand what they are all talking about? Apparently I am because all the others seemed to be totally against or totally in favour of whatever they were discussing.

"Could somebody explain to me what's going on?" I tried.

Sam sighed and motioned for me to sit down. That's the only moment I realised none of the imprints were here except Emily of course but she lives here. Jackie and Kim are almost always here and the strangest part is that Embry and Jared are here, without them.

"I don't know if you've heard but Bella is a vampire now and she gave birth to this hybrid." Sam practically spat out.

"You mean Renesmee."

"Let's just call it the thing." Sam said with such disgust in his voice when he talked about her. The disgust was clear on the faces of the others as well.

"She's an abomination, even worse than vampires. We can't allow her to live in our world."

"You want to kill her?"

Somehow that felt wrong. Sure, she might be a freak of nature but she was a child. She probably belonged in the same category as the monster of Frankenstein but a child nonetheless. Would they really hurt a kid?

"Yes, unfortunately we can't."

"Why not?"

The vampires were only eight, the pack could take them on. Why hadn't they if they wanted the kid dead so badly?

"Jacob gave permission to change Bella into a vampire."

He did what?

"She would have died if he hadn't or they would have done it anyway but at least that way the treaty would have been broken."

"I still don't get it."

"As long as the treaty hasn't been broken, we can't attack the Cullens and we can't kill the thing. We need you to go to Forks and convince Jacob to take back his permission and that will break the treaty."

"You want me to make Jacob break his promise?" I asked a little astonished.

"Yes." They all said.

Am I the only one who's not in favour of this plan?

"How could Jacob even give permission? Isn't that your job?" I asked Sam.

"Jacob is the original alpha so he can but fortunately for us he can also take it back. But right now he doesn't really want to." Sam grumbled.

"Will you do it?" Jared asked.

"Do I have choice?"

As it turns out, I don't. Before I could even agree to this ridiculous plan, they were already discussing who was going to accompany me to the Cullen house. They're not allowed in Forks but they thought the Cullens might make an exception for the ones escorting Jacob's imprint since he's the reason they're still alive. Eventually they settled on Leah and Paul. I don't know why those two since they're without a doubt the ones with the most unresolved issues concerning vampires.

We sat in Paul's truck with Leah in the backseat mumbling about how much she wanted to rip some throats right now. I suddenly remember why I dislike these two the most. Leah had apparently wanted to come because in this entire battle her brother had chosen the side of Jacob and therefore sided with the vampires. She just wanted to make sure Seth was okay. I have no idea why Paul volunteered.

"How's the arm?" Paul asked me again.

"Same as the last time you saw me." I said.

"Let me see." He demanded.

"No!"

I had taken to wearing long sleeves and fingerless gloves so no one would notice the scars. My dad obviously knew why but was kind enough not to say anything about it. I wasn't quite ready to show off the scars to the world.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't feel like it. Quit staring at my arm." I started getting angry.

"Jesus Paul, if she doesn't want to show you her ugly scars, let her." Leah grumbled.

"Ugly?" Paul asked while looking at me.

"Well duh! Have you ever heard of beautiful scars?" Leah got annoyed and jumped out of the car even before we had come to a complete stop.

"They're ugly?" He asked again once Leah got out.

"Yeah."

"Can I see?"

"No."

Didn't he understand that I just wanted to forget about the scars permanently marking my right arm. I just wanted to pretend they weren't there and that's a lot easier when people stop bringing them up.

"Why not?" He got angry.

"Because I already told you they're ugly."

"So? What do you even care what I think about them?"

"Because you'll get that look on your face."

"What look?"

"The one people have been giving me these past three weeks. The look that clearly says they wouldn't want to be me because of what happened but they sure like the sensation it brings to their lives. It makes me feel like I'm a car crash on the side of the road that everybody slows down for just so they can take a look at it."

Had I said this to anyone else, they would have probably felt bad for pushing me into showing my scars and just leave me be. But not Paul.

"Just show me!"

"No!"

"If you don't show me in the next three seconds I'm going to rip off your sleeve." He growled.

"What?"

"One."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Two."

I don't think he is.

"Three!"

"Will the two of you just get out of the car?" Leah shouted at us right before Paul was going to ruin my clothes.

I quickly got out of the car before Paul would still see through with his plan. I was surprised to see the house we had come for. I always imagined vampires to live in a dark castle or at least a creepy mansion but this house was so normal. It was really beautiful too and not at all an indication for its owners.

"Maybe Erin should just ring the doorbell herself and we'll stay right here." Leah suggested.

"Yep, good idea." Paul agreed.

"Wow, I'm so glad I got you two to be my wingmen." I said sarcastically but that didn't change anything. They still refused to get any closer to the house. I guess this was something I had to do all by myself.

I didn't even have to ring the doorbell. As soon as I got to the front door and had the intention to ring, someone opened the door. 'Please, don't eat me.' I thought to myself before looking up at the person in front of me.

"Hello Erin." Dr. Cullen smiled at me.

Well, I certainly don't think he's creepy and I'm having a hard time imagining him eating anyone.

"Hi Dr. Cullen." I tried to smile.

"Would you like to come in?"

That is the reason I had come here in the first place but now that I realised I was about to enter a house full of vampires without any protection, I was starting to having second doubts.

"That depends. Is anyone going to eat me?"

Dr. Cullen just smiled and shook his head but I had to make sure. At least now I could enter the house without expecting a vampire ready with pepper and salt around the corner.

"I assume you're here to see Jacob?"

I nodded.

"He's upstairs. Follow me."

Climbing up the stairs and following him to the last room in the hall, I couldn't help but look around and admire the beautiful house. I would totally not mind living here, on the condition that the vampires were gone of course. Dr Cullen lead me into a room that had a bed in the middle on which a beautiful woman lay so still I thought she was dead. Another person in that room was Jacob storming at me with an angry expression on his face. Was I in trouble?

"What are you doing here, Erin? Don't you know how dangerous this is?" He yelled at me.

So much for hoping he had missed me as much as I had him these past few days though he did look like he hadn't slept in a long time but somehow I doubt that is even remotely related to me.

"Calm down, Jacob. Sam practically forced her to come." The third person in the room said.

I recognised this person as Edward Cullen. Somehow he seemed less scary than the last time I had seen him. Then again I don't think anyone can look like a soulless bloodsucking vampire while holding the hand of the woman he loves in the gentle, almost endearing way he did. Plus he looked just as bad as Jacob did though in his case you can't really blame it on the lack of sleep since he's dead and all. But now that I've established he's not such a scary dude at the moment, I began to wonder how he had known Sam had put me up to this.

"Paul was replaying the scene." He explained to me.

Replaying the scene? Like role-play? Somehow I find it hard to believe that Paul is right now acting out a piece of theatre with Leah outside. The absurd idea brought a soft smile to my lips.

"I read it in his mind."

Read it in his mind? Is that some kind of code for... No, I have no idea what that could possibly be a code for.

"I'm a mind reader."

A mind reader? As in he knows everything I'm thinking in my head? When he confirmed it with a nod, I let out a little shriek. This is so weird. Can you hear that? He nodded again. What about now? Can you hear me now? He nodded for the third time. Okay, final test. Do you know what number I'm thinking of right now? 14.554.

"14.554." He repeated.

That is so weird. Kind of cool as well but still really weird. I should keep my thought in check. I'm sure there are a lot of things I don't want him to know. What if he told them to everyone? He might tell Jacob how often a day I think about having sex with him. Oh no... Too late. I clamped my hand in front of my mouth but that really doesn't do anything since I hadn't said it. Was there no way to turn it off?

"Your imprint has a dirty mind, Jacob." He snickered slightly.

"Stay out of her head!" Jacob yelled.

"This is so weird." I whispered.

"Why are you here, Erin?"

He clearly doesn't want me here. Ouch.

"He's just concerned for your safety." Edward suddenly said.

Do people ever get used to that? I wonder.

"And I should be. This house is filled with vampires."

"But I thought they only drank animal blood?"

"We do but Bella can wake up any moment now and newborns aren't very good at controlling themselves." Edward once again interrupted this conversation.

"Sorry." He said.

"Could you maybe leave the room for a while?" I asked Edward.

"It wouldn't matter. He can still read your mind and the rest of this house is already following this conversation." Jacob told me.

"So this would be a really bad time to tell you that you still cry for your teddy bear sometime in your sleep?" I grinned.

"Is this a joke to you?" He growled.

"No, more like a really bad dream."

"Look Erin, I've got a pretty good idea why you're here so you can go home and tell Sam I don't appreciate him dragging you into this."

Why was he acting so cold towards me? He's acting as if he really doesn't want me here and not just because he's afraid I'd get hurt.

"Okay, I'll just go then." I mumbled.

Why did I suddenly feel like crying?

"Wait." I got called back, just not by the person I wanted. I really don't like it that this vampire can read my mind. I feel kind of naked with all my thoughts exposed to him.

"She's just trying to help, Jacob. There's no need to act so cold towards her."

"You won't change my mind, Erin." Jacob sighed.

"I didn't come here to do that. Okay, that is kind of what Sam wanted me to do but if this is your decision, I'll support it or whatever." I shrugged.

"Really?" He smiled slightly.

"Yes though I don't understand why you would turn your back on the pack for a person who is no longer there and a hybrid you wanted dead yourself."

"I don't expect you to understand it just-"

"Support it?"

"Yes. Now you have to get out of here before Bella wakes up. I don't want to have to worry about you as well."

I eventually left, just like Jacob had asked me to. Leah and Paul didn't seem to be very happy with the non-progress I made but I felt kind of good for being on the same side as Jacob this time instead of always fighting against him.


	54. Stolen innocence

_Did you guys know I've been writing this story for over a year now? That's pretty long and I haven't even put this story on hold once: see, I can make a commitment :D Anyway, loved the reviews! Made me feel better after being cooped up in my bedroom the entire time, studying :s So thank you soooo much __**kikikiki**__, __**PhyscoPenguan64, Dreamcatcher94, MysteriousAndChaotic, ForeverTeamEdward13, AnonymousJinx209, Luli Cullen, wolfhappiness, xxyangxx2006, Mebs2010, GiaLunaLove, lestrangegirlwritings1539, someone anonymous, SundaySolis, nene82743, angel057, MinjiMZnc, Alenerien, ChelseaDagger14 and harrellgirl!**_

_I love the long reviews and I totally love it when you ramble on and on about my story and what you wish would happen. Just proves you're really liking my story so feel free to do that. There was a lot of hate and bad words directed at Jake last chapter (Great that you're all so into the story :)) but don't be too hostile towards him. He was just trying to protect Erin by getting her the hell out of that house but yeah, he did seem pretty cold. Plus I kind of wanted to make you guys wonder if maybe he imprinted on Renesmee, which he so didn't! I think I might hate the kid even more than Bella because it's just soo wrong that Jacob imprinted on her in the books. I had kind of already predicted it once it turned out the baby was a girl but I wished for him to find someone non-Bella related instead of her spawn. Who's rambling now? ;) Anyway, tell me what you think of this chapter._

**Chapter 54**

That evening I was lying on my bed, thinking about what had happened today. Sam had been really mad at me when he showed up at my house after Paul had dropped me off. He was angry that I had taken Jacob's side in this matter but when I asked him if he'd support whatever decision Emily would make, he went quit. I think he did understand but had probably hoped that this is a moment my stubbornness would have come in handy for him.

"Hi there."

I hadn't even heard Jacob come in through my window but I'm glad he's here. At least now we can talk without a family of vampires eavesdropping.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" I asked him sitting up on my bed so he could sit down next to me.

"Strangely enough okay." He smiled while pulling me closer to him.

"Why is that strange?" I asked him while snuggling a little closer to his chest.

"I told Bella that once her heart stopped beating she would be dead to me."

I chose wisely not to say out loud that technically she would be dead when her heart stopped beating.

"But when she woke up today, she was still her. Of course some things are gone like the blushing and falling over her own feet but she's still Bella."

"You expected her to be this monstrosity?" I asked.

"Yeah, I did." He sighed.

"So what happens now? I mean sure Bella is sort of still alive or back to live and the treaty wasn't broken but the pack still wants that child dead." I said while looking him in the eye.

"I talked to Sam. He's very much against letting Renesmee live and honestly, I am too but it's Bella's child and it didn't do anything wrong."

"Yet."

"Exactly, the moment Renesmee hurts someone we'll kill her but for now we've gotten back a little bit of peace between the pack and the Cullens."

So it's over? That easily? I was expecting some kind of war to happen between them but I'm all for this solution.

"Does this mean I'll see more of you now?"

"Yes, I'm not going to Forks anymore. I helped Bella and that's all I wanted to do. I still don't want to spend time with the leeches even now that's she's a part of it."

Good, I don't want him going over there either. He might think he can take them on but I haven't forgotten yet that the bite of a vampire is toxic to a werewolf.

"Thank you." He kissed my forehead.

"For what?" I yawned.

"For telling me to go to Forks. I wouldn't have gone if you weren't okay with it so thanks, for being okay with it."

I smiled at him. Yes, I had been reluctant to let him leave and got really pissed at myself that I had made that decision in these past few days but it was obviously something he had needed to do.

"You know I love you, right?" He smiled.

"Yes but it definitely wouldn't hurt to hear you say it again." I grinned.

"I love you."

He kissed me on the lips and before he could pull back, I grabbed his head and pulled him closer to me. I'm not that stupid to try and take his shirt off again (though he is not even wearing one). This definitely wasn't what he had meant with the right moment. But that doesn't mean we can't have a really long and hot make-out session.

"Erin, I-" But I wouldn't let him finish. I pressed my lips back on his. I wasn't quite done kissing him yet.

"I'm not going to try and steal your innocence this time. Just let me kiss you." I mumbled against his lips in between kisses.

If I had to choose which one of the guys I've ever kissed, was the best kisser, Jacob would win the competition without any real effort. His kisses always make me forget about everything else but maybe that's just because I love him so much. Maybe an objective person would disagree with me on this. Then again they won't be getting the chance to kiss Jacob, ever! I'm still kind of pissed Emma Hurley knows what it feels like to have Jacob's lips on hers but that's just something I'll have to live with.

"How's the arm?" Jacob suddenly asked me.

And I was no longer in the mood to kiss him. Way to ruin my mojo. I pulled back and put some distance between us.

"It's fine." I said but he wasn't even listening to me. He grabbed my arm (still covered up by the sleeve and fingerless gloves) and tried to look at my skin.

"What are you doing?" I asked him when I pulled my arm back which isn't very effective when your boyfriend has the strength of five men.

"I'm going to see with my own eyes that it's really okay."

"Please don't." I practically begged him.

"Why not?" He asked.

"You do know it's a scar right?" I sighed. When he nodded I continued. "Well it's a little more... eye-catching then we or maybe just I imagined."

"What do you even mean by that?"

"I guess I'm just trying to find a good way to say that it is a really ugly scar."

He didn't say anything anymore, instead he pulled up my sleeve and took off the glove I had been wearing. I was surprised he didn't gasp when he saw the scars running down my arm who would never again go away. But the look on his face was so unreadable to me that I had no idea what he was thinking right now. He started tracing the scars with his fingers as if trying to caress them away.

"Jacob?"

"I don't think they're ugly. Nothing could ever be ugly on you."

I do know he's saying that to make me feel better but it just felt like a big lie to me. They were ugly, even a blind man could see that! Jacob obviously noticed I didn't believe me and that seemed to upset him in return.

"I mean it." He repeated while looking me in the eye.

I smiled softly but he realised it wasn't very sincere. I didn't want to talk anymore so I pulled him down with me to lie next to me. I snuggled up to him and closed my eyes. I could fall asleep like this. I could still feel Jacob's hand going through my hair but it was almost like a lullaby to me and soon I was gone.

The next morning Jacob was gone but he had left a note saying he would pick me up for class today. I got ready really fast because like usually I had overslept. My dad noticed me coming downstairs but didn't comment on me wearing the gloves again. Unfortunately Jacob did.

"Why are you still wearing that?" He asked me a little annoyed when I got into his car.

"It's fashionable. You wouldn't understand." But he and I both knew fashion had absolutely nothing to do with it.

"Take it off."

"No."

"Why not?"

"People will stare." I mumbled.

"Let them. We don't care."

"I do. People finally stopped treating me like the poor little girl who almost got her arm ripped off."

Sure, that made him shake in anger but I decided to pretend I didn't notice. For the next five minutes there was a really tense silence in the car. He kept glancing at me (and the hand) every ten seconds but didn't say anything until we were almost at school.

"Fine, keep wearing it. It's not worth fighting over." He sighed.

He made it sound as if I had actually asked for his permission. He not wanting me to wear it had no influence on my decision. I don't think he knows that. I could have told him he has no say in the matter but it would have been a really bad idea to rile him up again now that he's calmed down.

"You do know you can't keep wearing that for the rest of your life, right?" He asked me when he pulled into a parking spot.

Honestly I had thought about doing just that but he was right. That would just be too weird and what would I do during the summer?

"I know but for now I'm keeping it on." I sighed.

I parted with Jacob when I had to go to class. He seemed a bit reluctant to let me go but I practically ran away from him as fast as I could. Not because I didn't want to stay with him but because I saw Paul coming my way and he had seemed determined to make me show my scars to him.

Andy greeted me before sitting next to me and bursting out in an ode to his new girlfriend. Her name is Christina Boylan and she's from Forks. He's pretty crazy about her, I can tell but don't say it to his face. He'll absolutely deny the whole thing and say they're just having fun together and he shouldn't have to label it. Whatever.

For the rest of the day I stayed pretty much all the time with Andy, I would have gone for Jacob but he is in none of my classes. Paul turned into a stalker since our drive to Forks. Every time I got into the hallway this week I bumped into him and he tried to push my sleeve up. Thank god I have pretty fast reflexes and he can't exactly use his super abilities in school when there are people around.

"Wanna hang out tonight?" Jacob asked me on our way back to his car.

Sure, I wouldn't mind spending some time with Jacob so that's what I told him. Just the 'sure' part of course.

"You do know that doesn't imply sex, right?" He asked me once I agreed.

"How sexually frustrated do you think I am?" A lot actually but there's no way I'm telling him that and he has no right to just assume it. "I don't want to jump your bones every chance I get." Not a total lie but it came pretty close.

"Okay, because I just wanted to watch a movie. Do you want to stay for dinner?"

"Yes but on the condition that I cook and neither you or Billy go anywhere near the kitchen."

"Deal." He smiled.

I had texted my dad to tell him I wouldn't be home tonight and though he probably wanted to forbid me, he said it was sort of okay. That's as good as it's going to get. I just made some pasta but Billy and Jacob pretty much went crazy for it. I know I'm not anywhere as good a cook as Emily but I manage. Speaking of her...

"So Emily called me today." I said.

Yep, when I noticed the unknown number Emily was the last person I expected on the other side of the line. I didn't even know she had my number but it's not that hard to figure out where she got it.

"Since when are you buddies?" Jacob asked me.

"We get along." I shrugged.

I don't know Emily all that well but I like her. She may be a little too touchy feely to become my next best friend but I've got a lot of respect for her, something I lack for most people in the pack.

"Anyway she said she wanted to have some kind of dinner since it's Sam's birthday soon and she wants to celebrate it with the entire pack."

I don't know why she would want them all there on that day as well. They're already there every other day. I thought she might have liked the opportunity to spend some time alone with her fiancé. That's what I would want.

"You want to go?" Jacob asked me.

"Sort of and Emily pretty much forced me to say yes. So you're going as well." I smiled.

"You do know the entire pack will be there, right?"

"Yes but I don't hate them or anything and since you haven't spend much time with them ever since they wanted to kill Bella, I think you should especially go."

The pack may not be my friends (in general, I do like Seth and Jared) but they are Jacob's friend and it's so stupid he's been sort of avoiding them these days. He thinks I don't notice it but like he's said before, I'm smarter than I look though Jacob says it a bit nicer.

"How do you even know that?" He asked me surprised.

"I know things." I grinned.

"Do you also know where you'll be staying tonight?"

"Huh?"

"I'm asking you if you want to spend the night here."

Well, I wouldn't really mind. There isn't a lot of difference between me staying here tonight and him climbing though my window every evening. But how would I get my father to agree with this? He doesn't know that Jacob spends practically every night in my bed but I'm pretty sure he'll notice it when I'm not there.

"I'd say yes but there's no way my father will agree with it." I sighed.

"Oh right. Obviously I didn't think this thing through." He smiled slightly but he was obviously a little disappointed.

"I'm sorry. I want to but... I can't."

"It's okay. I have patrols anyway tonight so I would have snuck out between 2 and 5 a.m. anyway."

"Does this mean you won't sleep at my place tonight?"

"I don't want to sneak out and wake your dad, plus if you're there maybe I won't be able to leave anymore."

"Good answer." I smiled but I was a little disappointed that he wouldn't be at my house tonight. I just sleep so much better at night when he's there as well.

I kissed Jacob goodbye and left for my house. I watched some TV with my dad and Bryan (very rare moment: we're all willingly sharing the same room with each other and when I say we, I mean my brother and any other living creature). Eventually I went up to bed with no prospect of finding Jacob there. Somehow sleeping sounded a lot less appealing than usually. I even got upstairs way too soon. It wasn't even 10 o'clock yet. When my phone rang unexpectedly I practically ran to it, hoping it would be Jacob. But it was an unknown number. Figuring it might be Emily again, I picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Erin Thompson?" A voice said on the other side.

"Yes, who is this?" I asked, not really expecting this unfamiliar voice to call me.

"It's Zoe. Zoe Hurley."

Oh, shit!

_Sorry about the cliffie but I needed a good ending of the chapter and now I know you'll all review like crazy to know what will happen next :) ...Right?_

_PS: who thought the title meant they were going to sleep together?_


	55. It's a twoway street

_Thank you so much for all the reviews/ alerts/ favourite. Makes me very happy! So thank you to all the people who reviewed: __**Tinkerbell-Lover-Ms-Write-It, Imprinting Magic, mebs2010, MysteriousAndChaotic, ForeverTeamEdward13, kikikiki, PhyscoPenguan64, Luli Cullen, Dreamcatcher94, MangooBean, nene82743, lestrangegirlwritings1539, wolfhappiness, anonymous review, Mocking Verse, bekahjoy, angel057, GiaLunaLove, AnonymousJinx209, ChelseaDagger14, Alenerien and Becca97.**_

_Some people have been saying there's some distance between Jacob and Erin. That was definitely not my intention so I'm hoping not this chapter but the next one will make you all realise they are doing pretty well with their relationship. Now about the whole sleeping with each other thing: It's not that Jacob doesn't want to sleep with Erin or isn't ready for it yet because he is but he just wants to make sure it happens at the right time. _

**Chapter 55**

Why would Zoe Hurley call me of all people? We weren't friends or anything. I even made it pretty clear before that I don't exactly appreciate her company.

"Euhm...hi?"

She could have called someone else, anyone else really. Don't tell me she didn't make any friend in the few weeks she had lived here. She could have called Seth! I'm sure he would have loved hearing her voice, me not so much.

"I know you probably didn't expect me to call you but I did."

She sounded nervous. Why? And I repeat, why did she call me?

"Yeah, kind of wondering why right now."

"I...euhm...I wanted to talk to Seth."

This isn't Seth's phone. How could calling me possibly result in her talking to Seth?

"He's not here."

"Oh well, of course not but I... I can't call him."

This is probably the weirdest phone call I've had so far. I didn't understand a thing that she was saying.

"Okay?"

"So I was hoping you could give him a message."

"Why me?"

I thought she didn't like me either after I've been rather rude to her. Not that she didn't deserve it. She drove me insane with going from 'I'm just a shy little girl' to 'I'm helping my sister steal your guy' to 'I'm weaselling my way into your life' and back to 'I'm just a shy and sad girl'. Talk about multiple personalities.

"Well, I know you and Seth are sort of friends and I don't know anyone else of his friends."

Yes, she does. Jacob! If I recall correctly they were tight buddies as well since he went to her house practically every day, though we all know that wasn't exactly for Zoe.

"Could you please tell him that I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye?"

"Maybe if you told me why you aren't telling this to Seth yourself."

I'm not going to play messenger when she could have just as easily dialled his number instead of keeping me up.

"I just... don't want to hear his voice."

I'm sure he would have loved hearing her say that! Why wouldn't she want to hear his voice? She's his imprint, she's supposed to love his voice. I'm certainly a sucker for Jacob's. It gives me wobbly knees but maybe that's the reason she doesn't want to talk to Seth. She might not like wobbly knees.

"You lost me there."

"I can't believe I'm telling you this but... I miss Seth. And I'm afraid I'll miss him even more if I talk to him. I can't really come visit him."

She sounded sad. Could it be that she was experiencing the same kind of loss that Seth has since she left La Push? If so I should help her since I had been in her shoes except that I didn't move away. But I know what it feels like thinking you can't be with the guy you're in love with. Plus this is also a request for Seth and he's always been really nice to me. I could repay him this way.

"Fine."

"Thank you. I have to hang up now."

And then there was nothing left but the beep-tone. Great, now I had to go tell Seth this. I can do it tomorrow. No need to lose my sleep over this. Not that I would sleep very well tonight anyway since Jacob wasn't here to keep my bed warm this time.

I had slept sort of okay but I'll be glad when Jacob sleeps over again. Tonight I was going to have dinner at Emily's for Sam's birthday and that would be the first time today I'd see Jacob. My dad was forcing me to study today and since I haven't done what he wants me to do a lot lately, I decided I would listen to him this time. Unfortunately that meant I had to text Jacob to tell him I couldn't spend the day with him. He seemed disappointed and then again so was I but I didn't want us to become this couple who spends every hour of every day together although that's sort of what we're turning into.

I had bought Sam a CD that Emily told me he would like. Wrapping up that present made me realise I still had Jacob's late Christmas gift in my room. With all the commotion going on lately I had completely forgotten about it and we were already February by now. I'm a terrible girlfriend! I decided to gift wrap his present as well and take it with me. Maybe tonight I'd get a chance to give it to him but I really don't want the entire pack staring at it. Maybe I'll give it when we leave the party.

Jacob was going to pick me up tonight because my dad had already left for work with the car and apparently it's completely unacceptable for me to walk the few minutes to Sam and Emily's place. I greeted him by planting a kiss on his lips and got into the car.

"How was your day?" He asked me once he pulled out of my driveway.

"Boring. Yours?" I shrugged.

"The same." He smiled.

"But I did get a strange phone call last night."

I might as well tell Jacob since I'll have to tell Seth and then the entire pack would know. Plus there's the fact we were on a strict tell-each-other-everything-policy these days. Jacob looked at me, waiting for me to continue the story.

"From Zoe Hurley."

Jacob seemed surprised, just as I had been when she had told me who she was. He knows very well I don't like any of the Hurleys and usually that's a mutual feeling. I still don't fully get why she called me last night.

"Why?"

"She wants me to tell Seth she's sorry about not saying goodbye and she felt like she couldn't do it herself." I explained.

"Okay but that still doesn't explain why she called you. It's not like you guys were friends."

"That's what I said as well but she knows I talk to Seth occasionally and she said she didn't know any of his friends."

Judging by the look on his face he seemed to be a little offended she didn't call him but if she had, I'm sure my jealous side would have come to the surface again because where there is Zoe, there is also Emma and I sure don't want her back into our lives. Jacob decided to not talk about it anymore and instead he told me about his sister Rebecca who had apparently gotten a promotion. He always seemed like a different person whenever he talked about his sisters and I felt a little sad for not knowing those women who brought that special look on his face.

When we entered Emily's house, most people were already there. I went to find Sam so I could hand him my gift and wish him a happy birthday. He was in the kitchen with Emily. That's normal I guess since his imprint is always there. I'm starting to wonder if maybe she doesn't realise her house has more than one room.

"Hey Sam, Hi Emily. Happy birthday, Sam!" I smiled.

Sam took my present and seemed very pleased with his gift. Good. They looked like I had been interrupting a private moment so I left again, making my way to the living room which was starting to get really crowded. I saw Seth sitting on one of the couches but he appeared to be in conversation with his sister so I decided to talk to him later.

I had been talking to Brady who I usually never speak to but he had a very interesting idea of how to make school more fun. His ideas of swimming pools and trampolines in class was rather entertaining and Brady wasn't all that bad. He was kind of a funny guy. He was explaining his dream menu for the cafeteria when Sam suddenly came up behind me and asked me if I could help out Emily in the kitchen. I don't know why he had asked me because I'm sure Jackie and Kim would have been more willing to help Emily with the food. But I went to the kitchen anyway.

"Sam said you needed some help?"

"Yes, if you could just put that in the oven, that would be great." She smiled.

I did as she told me and stayed a little longer, helping her where I could. Anyone who saw the amount of food on the table would think she was trying to feed an entire country and the sad part is, I don't even think it will be enough for the entire pack. That's how much they can eat.

"How have you been lately? I haven't seen you for over a month." She asked me.

"I've been okay."

That was a bit of a lie. Nothing was necessarily wrong but the whole huge scars on my arm situation had been affecting my mood. Plus there's the fact me and Jacob still haven't slept together even though the three weeks are already over.

"How's the arm?"

I sighed. My arm was apparently the topic of every conversation I had these days. I know Emily is just being nice but I was starting to get really annoyed that my new scars were all people noticed about me now. And I hadn't even taken the gloves off.

"I didn't leave my house for a month." She said. "I was always afraid that if I would step out of my house, even for just a minute people would stare and think awful things about my face." She smiled a little sadly as though the memory was still too painful.

In a way I got lucky that the scars are on my arm. I would have been really depressed if they were across my face. Emily seems to be in peace with it now but Jacob told me once that nobody is allowed to stare at her scars or Sam gets really mad. I may leave the house but I still don't want anyone to see the scars.

"I understand it, Erin. Better than anyone else because I've been there. The situation was slightly different of course but you can always talk to me." She said while that motherly look was on her face again.

"I've been wearing these gloves." I told her after a moment of silence. "Because I don't want anyone to see the scars."

She just nodded and waited for me to say something else. I don't know what she's waiting for.

"I do know I'll eventually have to take them off but I kind of like postponing that moment."

"The first time I went back in town was the hardest. People tried not to stare but they did. It took a lot of courage for me to step outside but it got easier. By now everyone is used to them." She said while pointing to her scars.

I think Emily is pretty brave. I don't think I'll find the courage any time soon to take of my glove and show off my scars to the world as if I don't care what people think. I stayed a little longer in the kitchen to talk to Emily and help her out. We talked about what had happened with Paul and in return she told me about how she had gotten her scars. She had been mad at Sam because he had dumped Leah and then he had the nerve to tell her he couldn't help it, that he had imprinted on her and that she was everything to him. In a flash of anger she told him she thought he was a monster and never wanted to see him again. He snapped. He hadn't really been a shape-shifter for that long so he couldn't control his anger very well. That's different now and he would never lose control like that again. I find it hard to imagine Sam so angry he'd phase. He always seems so composed and completely in control. I guess it wasn't always like that.

She told me she had realised that Sam was right when she had been in the hospital for a week. She missed him and even though she knew it would hurt her cousin, she couldn't help but fall in love with Sam. After all they were meant to be. Apparently she had found it weird that after the incident she hadn't been afraid of Sam. I was glad to hear that because I told her how a shaking shape-shifter didn't frighten me one bit even though I only recently got attacked by one.

I was glad I had the chance to talk to Emily about it. I should have done this weeks ago. She was after all the only one who had been in a similar situation but I don't know if I would have been as okay with being attacked by a shape-shifter if it had been Jacob giving me the scars. I can't imagine him ever hurting me but then again I also find it hard to imagine Sam hurting Emily. I don't think it's a very easy thing to overcome that the man you love gave you scars who'll be there for the rest of your life.

The time I had spend in the kitchen with Emily passed by so fast, we were already setting the table when I felt like I'd just arrived. I sat down between Jackie and Jacob since he insisted I sat next to him.

"You cooked?" Jackie asked me as if it was the scariest thought in the world.

"No, I helped Emily and believe me, I didn't do much at all."

"Good, I was already afraid you might try to poison us." She laughed.

"Haha." I said, my voice dripping with a very not-entertained tone.

Dinner was nice and for a change I got to see a better side of the pack. They weren't all as selfish as I had painted them off in my head though with some people I had hit the nail straight on. Paul for example. He hadn't tried to pull my sleeve off tonight but like usually he kept staring at my arm and I think he was very much aware of the reason I had put on my fingerless gloves again.

Sam had made it very clear he wasn't all for the idea of having dinner with the entire pack on his birthday, he probably would have preferred some alone time with his imprint. But since Emily had wanted this, she had also gotten it. She was sitting contently by his side and when there's a smile on her face, there is also one on Sam's.

Jared was seated next to Emily and he had his arm wrapped around Kim of course. She was quiet like usual but it's something I'm starting to get used to. She's just not really an in your face kind of girl. Thank god, we don't need two of them. For those who don't realise it, I'm talking about my dear friend Jackie.

She was of course sitting next to her beloved Embry. He's not on my list of favourite people lately for several reasons: he takes up all of my best friend's time (not that that's new), he got angry at me the other day when I implied to Jackie she could always dump him when he's bugging her (and when I say angry, I mean he started shaking to the point that he wanted to hit me in the face) and then there's also the fact he was the idiot who told Jacob to not tell me about the kiss (I'm afraid that will forever be a sore spot).

Seth was not being Seth. The funny and happy guy he had been when I first met him, was completely gone. He always looked sad nowadays and today was not an exception. Maybe he'd light up a little when I tell him Zoe called me to apologise to him. I just hope he won't ask me why she didn't call him herself. I couldn't really tell him she didn't want to hear his voice. That would push him right back in the depression.

On Jacob's other side sat Quil. He was weird but nice. I also thought it was endearing to see how he treated little Claire like the princess she thought she was. Speaking of the girl, I think she might be growing on me and not a lot of people do. She's just so cute. Yeah, I said cute. Weird, right?

Leah was being herself I guess, wearing once again that expression on her face that makes me think she hates the world and everything in it. I do feel sorry for her sometimes when I realise the reason she's so bitter. It must hurt that Sam suddenly dumped her for her cousin and now she's has to witness how happy they are together every single day. I really wouldn't want to be her but on the other side, you'd think she'd be over it by now. Or am I just being too insensitive?

Brady was sitting in front of me and actually made me laugh a few times out loud, really loud. He does some mighty funny impersonations of students and teachers at our school. He does have a foul mouth however. Sometimes he said some pretty degrading things that sounded like they could have come straight out of Paul's mouth.

And last but not least, Collin sat at the table. He was the youngest one in the pack with a few months difference to Brady and there was something really innocent about him even though I know very well he can be just as lethal as all the other shape-shifters around the table.

After dinner, I was helping Emily wash the dishes together with the other imprints. I have to admit though that Claire was not a great help at all. We were almost done when I noticed out of the window that someone was sitting outside. Seth was leaning against a tree and like always these days, looked really sad.

"I'm going outside for a bit. I'll be right back." I told the others before leaving through the back door.

Seth seemed surprised when I sat down next to him. After a while everyone just kind of gave up trying to console him.

"What are you doing outside? Shouldn't you be with the rest of the pack? You seemed to be getting along with them now." He asked.

"They're not as intolerable as I imagined. Since me and Jacob are doing well these days, I thought I'd give the pack a try as well."

Seth visibly flinched when I mentioned me and Jacob. I guess it made him think of his own imprint but I did come here to talk about her.

"Zoe called me last night."

The change in his demeanour was obvious. Only mentioning her name made him light up and while he seemed slightly bored by our conversation before, he was looking at me right now as if what I said was the most interesting thing he had ever heard.

"She did?" He asked me as if he didn't believe she called me.

"Yeah, a little weird since we didn't actually get along but she wanted me to apologise for her."

"Apologise?"

"To you, for not saying goodbye when she left."

"Why did she call you? Didn't she want to talk to me?"

The idea of her not wanting to speak to him made him depressed all over again. He slumped back down a little and sighed deep. I don't like seeing Seth so sad all the time.

"She thought she'd miss you even more if she heard your voice."

"She misses me?"

He seemed almost shocked by that. Did he honestly think she wouldn't? If he's turned into a wallowing mess because Zoe left, why did it seem strange to him that she'd feel the same?

"Of course she does. She's your imprint."

"Imprinting is one-sided. We hadn't even spend so much time together."

One-sided? Why in the world would he think such a thing?

"Imprinting is a two-way street, Seth. Fine, you had the whole gravity-shifting-experience but that doesn't mean she doesn't feel the connection between the two of you."

"How would you know that?" He asked me, not really believing me.

"Because I was Zoe. I've been where she is right now. She's feeling this magnetic pull towards you and probably can't stand the idea of not seeing you again anytime soon. She's less happy when you aren't around and just your presence makes every day so much better. She's feeling everything you're feeling right now, just as strongly, she just doesn't know why."

"If you felt all that, then why did you reject Jacob in the first place?" He asked me with big eyes.

Him asking me about my relationship with Jacob was more about Zoe than he makes it out to be. He didn't want to know why I gave Jacob a hard time, he wanted to know if all those feelings were enough to bring Zoe back to him. It was.

"I know it might have seemed to the rest that I was being hard to please but the truth is that loving Jacob so intensely, it's scary. So I did what I do best and I ran. But there is no point to running when it's meant to be. No matter what I would have ended up with Jacob anyway even if I fought the pull I felt towards him the entire time. And I fought it, hard."

Translation: Zoe will be back.

"Thank you, Erin." He smiled.

Yep, a sincere smile even. The first one to grace his face ever since Zoe Hurley left La Push. And I put it there.

_By the way, it's my birthday today! And what I really want for my birthday is lots of reviews from all of you :D_


	56. Godawful Gift Giver

_Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes! I had a pretty good birthday :) And of course I want and need to thank all the people who reviewed my story: __**nene82743, jaa162, ForeverTeamEdward13, MangooBean, Fallenqueen2, Imprinting Magic, iluvcheer18; wolfhappiness, harrellgirl, Becca97, Luli Cullen, kikikiki, n8tivegurl, PhyscoPengua64, MysteriousAndChaotic, nene82743, Violet the Wolf, Perfect love kills all fear, Tinkerbell-Lover-Ms-Write-It, blueOeyedOdevil, lestrangegirlwritings1539, Ayannaxx, cullensrule, anonymous review, Mebs2010, AnonymousJinx209, angel057, Bingo, ChelseaDagger14, The Wrider, OnlyTheGoodeSpyYoung13, bookfreak345, GiaLunaLove, happinie93, Alenerien and Koda. **__Thank you! And you guys were so numerous this chapter, loved it :D_

_Love kills all fear asked me when Zoe helped Emma to steal Jacob away from Erin and I figured maybe there were others who were wondering the same thing. Zoe never actually did such a thing but that's just how Erin sees it. In her eyes Zoe is this little twofaced bitch who helped Emma to drive Jacob and Erin apart. But we all know Zoe is not like that._

_So two people who reviewed gave me an idea I used in this chapter: angel057 and jaa162. Because I had already written the chapter when you guys reviewed I couldn't completely change it but I did use your ideas in a slightly different way. Thank you for helping with this chapter. _

**Chapter 56**

Jacob's POV

Erin was different tonight. These past few days she's been moping around even if she thinks she hides it well but I noticed. Tonight she had been almost... chipper if that's a word you'd use to describe her. She was laughing with Brady's jokes and talking to Emily and she didn't roll her eyes once tonight, at least not that I saw.

You can call it ridiculous as hell but seeing her laugh at Brady's jokes made me jealous, it made me very jealous. It's not like she won't laugh at my jokes but suddenly I didn't mind her not being close to the pack before. I kind of want to keep her all to myself. Except that I don't really have her all to myself, well not completely. This is probably even more ridiculous but I want to see her in a way no one has ever seen her before. Guys have kissed her and hugged her before (and God knows how much I hate that) but no one has ever loved her as fully as I can, but still haven't either. Why? Because what if it's not what she expects of it? She told me that the longer we put this off, the more she'll expect of me and we have waited a long time.

That doesn't mean I don't think about doing it, I think about it way too much. It's been driving the pack crazy and I'm getting worried I'm ruining Collin's innocent mind with my daydreams. And I'm convinced Erin would skin me alive if she knew how I thought about her sometime. But I can't seem to get it out of my mind anymore. Now that we've talked about it and the three weeks passed, it's all I think about when I kiss her, when I hug her, when I talk to her, when I look at her, when I think of her, even when she's nowhere near me.

"Thinking of a certain girl again?" Jared grinned.

He loves this. Probably because he does sleep with his girlfriend. He also told me that the longer we don't do it, the more I'll feel this insane urge to make her mine, claim her or whatever he used to describe it. Claim her? She was already mine...right? It doesn't mean he's wrong. Whenever she gets too close lately I have to literally fight the urge to not assault her, she would definitely not appreciate that. The worst part is that I know she's feeling the same. Whenever she looks at me I can see all that locked up passion in her eyes and I have to look away before she notices I'm getting just as excited.

"Shut up, Jared." I grumbled.

Why I'm in such a terrible mood? There is of course the sexually frustrated part but Erin was also not in the room and that always made me a little less pleasant. She was helping the other imprints in the kitchen and I wish they would just hurry up so that Erin would be next to me again. Eventually the imprints came out but I didn't see Erin. Immediately this fear gripped my heart that something might have happened to her and I knew it won't go away until I have her in my arms.

"Where's Erin?"

I tried not too sound to worried and upset but by the smile on Emily's face I think it's safe to say I wasn't very successful. I don't really care all that much about it anyway.

"She went outside a while ago."

Was she okay? Had something happened? Was she upset? Was she hurt? Was she in danger? These thoughts pretty much ring in my head ten times a day. I completely abandoned the conversation I was having with Quil and rushed outside. In the hallway I ran into Seth who looked almost happy, well at least not as upset as usual. I looked at him strangely but decided not to ask him why he was slightly smiling, I needed to make sure Erin was okay first.

"Are you looking for Erin?" He asked me and that did catch my attention.

"Yes, do you know where she is?"

"Outside. You know, you're kind of lucky to have her." He smiled.

He complimented my imprint? After she made it clear to dislike his? Who cares, I have to make sure she's okay. I found her on the porch and quickly wrapped my arms around her. She was safe.

Erin POV

When I wanted to head back to the house after talking to Seth, I was held up on the porch. Leah was sitting there, staring at me in a strange way. I think she might have been sitting there for a while now because it seemed to me that she had heard the entire conversation with Seth.

"That was nice of you." She said.

"What was? Talking to Seth?" I asked her.

"Telling him everything would eventually work out with Zoe. That he shouldn't be such a downer all the time."

It was weird to hear those words coming from the mouth of the girl who never smiled and was by far the biggest downer in this place.

"Well, it was true." I shrugged.

"Because imprinting is just meant to be, right?" She said, her voice dripping with bitterness.

This conversation was making me very uncomfortable. Leah hated imprinting and had always made it very clear. Did that mean she also hated the imprints? I certainly got that impression. I don't think Leah would phase on me like Paul had but she was so much better than him at throwing nasty comments around. And I did not want to be her victim.

"I never really thanked you for giving Jacob a hard time." She smiled slightly.

What the hell? Why would she thank me for such a thing? Did she like to see me torture Jacob? Or was she just happy imprinting had made Jacob its next miserable victim and she didn't have to be the only one.

"Thank me?"

"Yeah, you know I don't like imprinting, right?"

What a stupid question. Everyone knew that. I nodded.

"The entire pack always talks about it as if it's a force you can't fight. I've seen it in their minds and that way I have sort of experienced what it feels like."

By the tone in her voice I could tell how much she hated the link their minds made when they phase and that she had seen in their minds what imprinting feels like. She sounded as if she was going to start off a long speech that would take up all night. Does that mean I should sit down or something?

"But like Seth said, imprinting is one-sided. You might not be able to fight it but that doesn't mean the one you imprint on can't either. I'm glad you fought it. Hard." She used my own words against me or is she on my side? I don't really get what she's saying.

"I'm not following."

"I always wondered that if you wanted, really wanted to fight being imprinted on, you could. I wanted to know if the imprint could have been broken, if Emily fought hard enough."

Now I get it. She had been hoping I could break the imprint and that way she could throw it in Emily's face that it was able to break and that Emily is guilty of all Leah's pain and suffering.

"And now that you know?" I asked her.

Could it be that her little insight would make her hate Emily and Sam a little less?

"Nothing." She shrugged. "It doesn't change anything which is strange because I always figured it would."

She seemed not to care about it or was that just a masque? After that Leah walked in the forest behind the house and was gone. Probably on patrol but it still left me standing all alone on the porch, trying to figure out what this conversation had meant. I think I stood there for a good ten minutes when Jacob came out of the house.

"There you are. I went looking for you in the kitchen but Emily told me you'd gone outside for quite a while now." Jacob smiled relieved at me while wrapping his warm arms around me.

I didn't fully respond to him standing so close to me. I was still a little weirded out by my conversation with Leah. She is one confusing girl.

"Are you okay?" He asking me with a concerned look on his face.

"Yeah, I just had a strange conversation."

"With Seth? How was that strange? He came back in a moment ago, telling me I'm very lucky to have you but then again I already knew that." He smiled.

"Not with Seth, with Leah."

"About what?" He asked.

"Imprinting."

"Why? It's not really one of her favourite subjects." He frowned.

"I know but she brought it up. She thanked me, I think, for rejecting you in the beginning."

"What?"

Yep, Jacob seemed just as confused with it as I had been, or still am.

"Weird, right? She said she was glad to see someone fight the imprint so now she knew it can't be broken."

"Oh, I get it." He said.

"You do? Could you explain it to me then?" I turned around in his arms to face him.

"When I first imprinted on you and you were..."

"...Playing hard to get?" I suggested.

"Yeah, let's call it that. The entire pack was really supportive saying you would come around but Leah seemed glad that you weren't accepting the imprint. I saw it in her mind that she was hoping you'd break it and prove to all of us that imprinting isn't meant to be."

"But it is. If you could break it, it kind of ruins the whole idea of soul mates."

"I know that and she does too. She just wants her hatred for Sam and Emily to be justified."

"Well, it is a little." I said.

"What was Sam supposed to do then? Love Emily but stay with Leah even though he didn't have any feelings for her anymore?"

"No..."

This conversation was taking a turn for the worse because now I was thinking what if Jacob had a girlfriend when he had imprinted on me? I would have felt really bad to steal Jacob from another girl even though we couldn't help it. I think Emily must already feel guilty enough without having to put up with Leah's glares all the time.

"Let's not talk about it anymore. Could you drive me home? I'm starting to get a little tired."

"I have a confession to make." He looked guilty.

Oh boy, what had the idiot done this time?

"I texted your dad, pretending to be you and said you were going to stay over at Jackie's."

I slapped him.

"What did you do that for?"

"For making me worry you had really screwed up something."

When he had said he needed to confess, I couldn't help that images of Emma came swirling back into my mind. Huh, I thought I was over that.

"Sorry, but I just know you don't like lying to your dad and I didn't want you to get angry."

Well, at least this time he told me.

"But you lied to my dad, I didn't." I grinned.

"Is that bad? Because I didn't even ask you if you wanted to sleep over at my place tonight. I just figured since you said yes the other day but couldn't, that you wouldn't mind to sleep in my bed this time. But I really should have asked you because what if it was okay yesterday but you changed your mind since then or maybe you didn't even really want to last-"

"Jacob! Why are you rambling?" I laughed.

He's worse than girls when it comes to rambling because once he starts it's really hard to get him to stop talking. It's just something he does when he's nervous but why would he be nervous?

"Is something going to happen tonight that requires me taking my clothes off?" I guessed.

And my guess was correct because as soon as I had said it, this blush crept on his cheeks. Now I've seen Jacob blush before but not like this. Normally it's even a little hard to see the blush on his face because of his darker skin tone but right now his face was sporting the colour like a red flag. I wanted to laugh because it really is a sight to behold, such a large and mature man blushing like a school girl but I know he wouldn't appreciate me laughing at him at such a moment. Plus the prospect of losing my virginity tonight made me really nervous as well.

Since we both knew what could happen tonight, we were suddenly very awkward around each other, something that doesn't happen a lot between us. If we were going to stay tense like this the entire evening and night, there is no way I want to sleep in the same room as Jacob. So we just needed to take the pressure off.

"Maybe tonight might not be such a good idea." I tried.

"Why not?"

"It's not that I don't want to because, well you know I do. But I want our first time to be kind of spontaneous and now that we're so tense there is no way it will be spontaneous. Maybe another moment would be better."

I can't believe I just said that! I've been nagging Jacob for weeks now to sleep with me and when he finally wants to, I say no? Every other teenage girl would think I'm the biggest fool there is. I might be.

"You're right." He sighed.

He seemed a little disappointed but also relieved that he didn't have to worry about that anymore. We eventually decided to get our stuff and walk to the car. After saying goodbye to everyone, the tension had sort of left my body and we could act normal around each other again.

"I have something for you." I smiled at him once we had gotten to his house.

"What is it?"

I didn't answer Jacob, instead I left his room to go get his present form my bag which I had left in the living room. When I got back, I put it in his lap.

"I know it's way overdue but Merry Christmas. Better late than never. Plus it can also count as a late Valentine present since I insisted we didn't buy each other anything but you completely ignored my request." I smiled.

It had been Valentine a few days ago and I had told Jacob clearly I didn't want to celebrate it because honestly, it's just a holiday invented to throw your money out the window and make the singles feel miserable. Even though I'm not one of those anymore I refused to contribute to their misery. But of course Jacob ignored what I wanted and he might not have bought me an expensive gift, he gave me a red rose every hour. I was a little pissed that he had just ignored my request but it was just such a sweet gesture that I hadn't been able to stay mad at him.

He seemed really surprised to get a present from me. I can't blame him. People usually don't expect Christmas presents in February. But I think Jacob understands that these last few weeks weren't ideal to exchange presents. He gave me this bright smile to tell me he was excited to get a present from me before he started tearing it open. It was the first time I ever gave him anything, that comes with me paying money for it that is.

"An alarm clock?" He asked, looking a bit confused.

There had been another reason that I hadn't given my present to him yet. I had tried really hard to find Jacob a gift with just as much emotional meaning to it as his gift to me. But I failed. I just suck at finding good gifts and I didn't want the see the look of disappointment on his face when he saw my pretty lame present.

"Yeah, I know it's probably not the present you expected but I can't help it. I can't give great presents, ask anyone. And I did try to find you an awesome gift but obviously I didn't find it. I feel bad about it because you gave me this beautiful frame of you and me, not to mention you even gave me this beautiful necklace without any reason and I gave you an alarm clock! But I knew you needed one since you told me yours has been broken for months now and you always wake up too late because of it. I guess I'm more of a practical gift giver and I just-"

I immediately stopped talking when Jacob had pressed his lips to mine. It's really hard to talk when he does that and there are so much better uses for my mouth right now. Can't believe I just thought that.

"Who's rambling now?" He grinned after pulling away.

"You're having too much fun with this." I mumbled while resting my head on his shoulder.

"I like my gift. I like everything you could possibly give me. And yes, it's more practical than my gift had been but that's just so much more you. And now I'll think of you every time I use it."

Oh great, now whenever his alarm wakes him up in the morning, he'll be like 'Damn Erin! Why did you have to give me this?'. But I get what he's trying to say and he's just so amazing trying to make me feel better over the lame gift.

"Okay then." I smiled.

He smiled back and that made me feel the need to reach out and kiss him again. So that's what I did. The moment my lips touch his it's almost as if a spark electrifies my whole body and I can't stand the idea of him pulling away any time soon so I just grab him and pull him closer to me. Being close to Jacob is all I want right now. Eventually I had to pull away because I need air to stay alive.

"Jacob?" I panted.

"Hmmm?" He said (or hummed is more likely) while trailing kisses down my neck.

"Did we take enough pressure off?" I breathed out.

"What do you mean?" He stopped and looked me in the eyes.

"I said we shouldn't have our first time tonight because it was making us very tense and awkward so telling you we weren't sleeping with each other tonight was me taking the pressure off. But now that we're here, being spontaneous and all, I have no intention of walking away with my virginity intact." I breathed out.

He came a little closer and he had already been so close. The look in his eyes was so intense and a lot of emotions were flashing over his face. Was that lust?

"Good." He grinned and then resumed kissing the life out of me.

Admitting to him that we were going to have sex tonight made me nervous all over again but I was determined to overcome it. Jacob on the other hand didn't seem nervous at all while he had looked like a scared chicken when we mentioned it an hour ago. He almost seemed to know perfectly what he was doing. He steered me to lie down and got on top of me, gently as to not crush me. He did however crush his lips against mine with a hunger I had never experienced from him before. I came to the realisation that nerves apparently melt away when you're getting as excited as I am right now but then again my ability to form sentences seemed to be slipping away as well. I almost couldn't properly think with Jacob kissing my lips, my cheeks, my neck, my collarbone, my... I let out a little shriek.

"Are you okay?" Jacob asked me concerned, seizing all his previous actions.

"Yes, I...just...d-didn't see t-that coming." I barely managed to stutter out.

Jacob had really taken me by surprise when he had suddenly latched his lips on the curve of my breasts. I hadn't even realised he had started unbuttoning my shirt. Then again he had apparently managed to pull his shirt off in the process as well or hadn't he even worn one in the first place? When he pulled off mine completely, I let him and pulled him even closer on top of me. But when his hands moved to unbutton my pants, I tensed up.

"Are you sure about this, Erin?" He asked me.

Just the fact that he asked me that, made me sure that I really wanted to share this with Jacob. So I pushed my lips back against his and moved his hands back to my pants.

"Yes."

_Because this chapter is when they finally sleep together, i didn't really know how to write it because everyone seemed to be expecting something else from this. It's still a T rated story so I didn't make it too explicit and stopped at the right time. I'm sure you can all use your imagination to figure out what happens after the 'yes'. I just hope you'll like the way this chapter turned out and also if you didn't, please review._


	57. Morning after

_Another week, another chapter :) I have to thank all the great people who reviewed the last chapter which is __**ForeverTeamEdward13, jaa162, Becca97, MysteriousAndChaotic, wolfhappiness, Luli Cullen, kikikiki, taydortot, bookfreak345, happinie93, nene82743, PhyscoPenguan64, cullensrule, angel057, Shirosuki Emiko, Alenerien, Mebs2010 and jacoblover945: **__Thank you!_

_Some of you might have been a little disappointed because last chapter wasn't very explicit but I wanted it to be nice for everyone to read and a lot of people seemed to be glad I didn't write it too explicit. _

_I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I wrote it in one afternoon. I hope you'll enjoy it as well. And as usually feel free to review;)_

**Chapter 57**

When I woke up the following day I felt...naked. Because I was, naked, in bed, with Jacob, who was also naked. It made me feel a little...exposed. Jacob was still sleeping and it gave me the time to fully process what had happened last night. I was no longer a virgin and I had been able to share a wonderful night with my amazing shape-shifting boyfriend. Make that a great night. I know it's normal for the first time to be painful and it did hurt. I know it's normal for the first time to be awkward especially when neither is very experienced in the area and awkward it was. But at the same time it had completely blown all my expectations and had been so much better than I could have possibly imagined, pain and awkwardness included.

"Good morning." I heard a gruff voice in my ear.

"Hi" I smiled but of course he couldn't see that since I was lying on his chest, both of us looking at the ceiling.

I didn't really want to turn around since that would mean me rubbing my naked boobs against his bare chest and that would without a doubt be awkward.

"How are you feeling?" He asked me while rubbing my arm tenderly.

"Good, great even." I told him a little timid.

"Me too. Awesome even." He said and I could just hear the huge grin plastered on his face.

I snorted. And then it changed into laughter, which Jacob soon joined. Must have looked a little weird, us lying naked in the bed laughing at absolutely nothing.

"I'm glad you didn't go all out last night." I sighed after we were done laughing.

"What do you mean?"

"At some point I was actually afraid to enter your bedroom and find rose pedals and candles everywhere with Elton John's 'Can you feel the love tonight?' playing in the background. That would have put the pressure right back on."

"I know you don't like that sort of thing. And you're obviously more a Celine Dion kind of girl." He laughed and I did too.

"Your dad isn't home, right?" I suddenly panicked.

"No, I thought of everything." He smiled.

"We should get dressed." I told him.

"We should." He agreed but none of us really made a move to get up.

Eventually we did have to get up and get dressed but for now we were perfectly content to lie in bed together. I kind of felt on top of the world right now. Jacob was holding and caressing my hand in such a tender way, I couldn't get the soft smile off my face.

"I love every part of you." He told me while bringing my scared hand to his face and laying a kiss on it.

And I figured that maybe I'd be able to not wear the gloves tomorrow at school.

Which I did. The next morning, after sleeping in my own bed with Jacob but fully clothed this time, I went downstairs to get ready for school with my hand and arm all exposed. I might still chicken out on the way to school though. My dad was sleeping which I was sort of thankful for. I didn't want him to be all teary, telling me how good he thought it was for me to go to school like that. He can get irrationally emotional sometimes, I definitely didn't inherit that trait.

When I got into Jacob's car (it really is ridiculous sometime that we wake up together, I prepare myself for school, step outside of the house and he's there to pick me up), he looked at my arm for a while and smiled.

"I'm glad you're not wearing the gloves anymore."

"I talked to Emily the other day and if she could get outside with those scars on her face, I can do the same."

He seemed happy that I was following her example or maybe he was just glad I was getting along with someone in the pack although she isn't really a shape-shifter. When we arrived at the school however, I chickened out. And I had left the gloves at home in an attempt to avoid chickening out like this but right now I really wished I had brought them along anyway.

"You don't happen to be in the mood for skipping classes?" I asked Jacob when he said I had to get out of the car at some point.

"No, and neither are you. Come on, it'll be okay." He told me and grabbed me by my hand, out of the car.

People didn't stare. You know why? Because Jacob held my scarred hand in his and people couldn't see the scars running down my arm and hand (I was still wearing long sleeves since it was winter).

"Thank you." I whispered to him when we stopped in front of my locker.

"What for?" He smiled.

"Taking the role of my glove on you today." I told him while lifting our intertwined hands.

Unfortunately I had to let go of his hand to open my locker. I probably stood there, staring at my locker for a good five minutes.

"Are you okay?" He asked concerned when I kept staring at my locker and locking hands desperately with him.

"Kind of pathetic, right? I can't even pick up to courage to open my locker." I sighed.

"There is nothing pathetic about that." He told me before opening my locker with his free hand. How come he only needed one hand for that? He even took my books out and handed them over to me, all that without commentating on me still trying to hide my hand.

"I love you." I kind of blurted out and it made Jacob drop my other books on the floor.

He knows I love him but I haven't actually told him that since I had realised it myself. Which means that in all the months we've been dating he has told me countless of times that he loves me and now I have told him a total of two times. He stared at me with big eyes and a ridiculously happy grin on his face that made me giggle while we all know I don't do giggling.

"Say it again." He whispered.

"You're acting as if you don't know that. You do know that, right?"

I figured he knows how I feel because I do imply and show how much I love him but maybe he'd like to hear me actually say it sometimes as well.

"I do but it sounds so good coming from your lips." He smiled.

I rolled my eyes and picked up the books he had dropped with both hands. When I started stuffing some of them back in my locker his eyes got even bigger. What was he looking at now? I only figured that out when Seth joined us. Before saying something to either of us, he stared at my hand for a while. I quickly pulled my sleeve over it. See, I could do that all day because I can't exactly hold Jacob's hand for the next seven hours since he isn't in any of my classes. But this could work.

"What do you want, Seth?" Jacob snapped at him and I had never seen him act mean towards Seth.

"I wanted to thank you, Erin." He smiled. Smiled?

"For what?" I asked him a little suspicious of what was going on.

"Thanks to our talk on Saturday I tried to call Zoe again, she didn't pick up but when I left her a voicemail, she called me back!" He shouted in excitement.

"That's really great, Seth but I don't get why you have to thank me for that."

After all Seth is old enough to pick up the phone whenever he wants to and since the boy wears his heart on his sleeve, it's not that hard to be moved by his words I'm sure.

"Because you're the one who told me she misses me as well and that's she's feeling what I'm feeling and I kind of played in on that." He smiled.

"Euhm, you're welcome I guess."

Seth left after that and Jacob gently pushed my back against the locker. He wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and rubbed his face in the crook of my neck.

"What are you doing? We're in the middle of the hallway." I tried to reason with him but he didn't butch and I couldn't bring myself to push him away.

"I don't care. Seth just reminded me of something, something I saw in his mind yesterday during patrol. What you said to him about me. Loving me so intensely it's scary but there's no point of running away when it's meant to be?" I could hear him smile.

Oh man, he wasn't supposed to hear that. If I wanted him to, I just would have told him that. This is embarrassing. I groaned.

"I thought it was sweet." He told me while kissing my cheek.

Of course he thought it was sweet! I figured that Seth's head would be too filled with thoughts of Zoe to even think about the conversation he had with me.

"Why did he have to show you that?" I groaned.

"He couldn't help it, Erin and it's not really something embarrassing. We can't exactly control what we think about during patrol."

I froze. He pulled away a little to see what was wrong. He looked concerned.

"Can you control what you think of?" I asked him.

"Of course not. I am better at it then most of the others because I've been one longer and I've got alpha blood but I still can't decide what I want to think of and then not think of anything else." He told me as it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Do you think about me?"

"I think about you all the time." He smiled.

"No, I mean did you think about two night ago? When we slept together?"

The fact that he looked away and at the ground made it clear that he had. Holy shit!

"The pack has seen me naked?" I gasped.

Now he was rubbing the back of his neck and still refusing to meet my gaze. This is even more embarrassing than... Nope, this is pretty much the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me.

"I tried not to think about it but it was really hard not to think about it. But they didn't see you completely naked...They got flashes."

Flashes? Flashes! I'm sure those guys can still recognise a naked boob when they see one in a flash.

"Please don't be mad. I couldn't help it."

I was mad, more embarrassed than mad but still really pissed off. Just not at him. I couldn't be since I had thought about it too, a lot. But I don't have to share my mind with other teenage boys. Couldn't he have blocked his mind or something?

"Oh, this is so..." I groaned.

"Sweet?" Jacob tried.

"No, definitely not that. It's embarrassing."

"But if it helps, I've seen the other imprints naked as well in their minds."

"That's most definitely not helping. It doesn't really make me feel better when you tell me you've seen other girls naked."

Especially when those girls are as good-looking as the other imprints.

"I might not talk to the pack for another year or so." I sighed while putting my head back against the locker.

"Come on, it's not that bad."

"They didn't see you naked." I retorted.

"It would be a little weird if I thought of myself naked but since our clothes rip when we phase, they have most definitely seen me naked. You just get used to it. And it's not like I have to be embarrassed about my body." He grinned.

"And I do?" I asked him, cocking an eyebrow.

"No, oh God no. You are beautiful, the most gorgeous-"

"Save it, Jacob. I don't want to talk about me being naked anymore. Apparently you can discuss it with the entire pack now." I sighed.

"I really am sorry."

"I know and I'm not mad at you, just really mortified." I groaned.

Maybe this embarrassment might take my mind of my arm. Woops, not anymore now that I thought about it. Great day, really! I kissed Jacob goodbye and left for my class in which everyone tried to catch a glimpse of my scars now that I no longer covered them up. I hate school! And we hadn't even gotten to the worst part of my day yet.

It was the end of all my classes and even thought people had stared, a lot, I felt like things could only get better from now on. When I was putting all the books I didn't need in my locker, a dark hand closed it for me.

"Hey!" I yelled at the person but smiled a little when I saw it was just Embry.

"What did you tell Jackie?" He practically growled in my face.

So much for a nice greeting back. He looked angry, correction; he looked livid and somehow I seemed to be the cause of it.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"I'll tell you what's wrong! You've been turning my girlfriend against me and now you've said something to her that made her hide things from me!" He yelled.

What was Embry talking about? Jackie adores him, she still does. Nothing I could say, could possibly change that. Then why was he so angry with me?

"I have no idea what you're going on about but could you maybe take a step back, some distance would be nice." I told him.

He was standing way too close to my liking, growling and hissing in my face. For the first time Embry seemed kind of scary to me.

"She's hiding something and it's all your fault." He yelled.

First of all Jackie would never hide anything from Embry and secondly even if she did, how would that be my fault? Oh, wait. There was something she'd been hiding from him but I figured by now she would have told him about staying in La Push next year and not applying for any other colleges. Then again, if she had told him, we all probably would have noticed it.

"I know you know what it is. Tell me!"

I had never seen him so angry, with all the growling and shaking. But I had promised my friend I wouldn't tell him so she could on her own terms. I wasn't going to break that promise but Embry was definitely starting to scare me.

"Calm down, Embry." Jared told him calmly while putting a hand on his shoulder but that only seemed to piss off Embry more.

I hadn't even seen Jared coming up but I sure was glad I wasn't all alone with Embry right now. When Embry seemed to keep shaking no matter what, Jared thought it would be better to take him to the woods. The glare Embry gave me when Jared took him outside was the most evil one I had ever seen on his face.

Embry had been angry with me before because I did stuff he didn't like and there's a lot of things I do that he doesn't like. He doesn't like it when I'm rude to Jackie even when she totally deserves it for lying to me. He doesn't like it when I'm giving Jacob a hard time even though Embry has nothing to do with my relationship with his best friend. He also doesn't like it that I make fun of him imprinting on Jackie sometimes. But today I was wondering if Embry just didn't like me as a person.


	58. Plans for the future

_I had been a little stressed for this chapter because a few days ago, my laptop refused to let me sign in on my account :s Luckily that worked out and I'm able to update my story again so I give you: chapter 58! Wow, this story has gotten so much longer than I had intended but I'd be kind of sad to end this story. So for now I'll continue. Thank you all so much for reviewing: __**ForeverTeamEdward13, Becca97, Tinkerbell-Lover-Ms-Write-It, MysteriousAndChaotic, Imprinting Magic, kikikiki, wolfhappiness, harrellgirl, nene82743, jacoblover945, Kimaru Emiko, Mythical Words, KatelynnLuvsWWE, bookfreak345, xxyangxx2006, PurpleLama222, happinie93, angel057, Alenerien, samasbananas and GiaLunaLove! **__THANK YOU!_

**Chapter 58**

Embry being that angry with me had affected me more than I wanted it to. And somehow that made me angry at Jackie in return. She should have told Embry by now, she had promised me that she would tell him soon and that had been over two months ago. So when I noticed her standing in the parking lot with the rest of the pack, I quickly pulled her aside to yell at her, ignoring Jacob's attempt at kissing me in the process.

"Ouch, stop pulling Erin! Is something wrong?"

"Yes, something is wrong. Your boyfriend just started yelling in the hallway that it was my fault you were keeping things from him."

"What? Embry?"

"Of course Embry or do you have another boyfriend we're not aware of?" I snapped.

"Why would he yell at you?"

She seemed genuinely surprised by that. Maybe she didn't realise her boyfriend was perfectly aware that she had been hiding something from him.

"Because as usually he thinks I'm the cause of everything that's gone wrong. Whenever anything is wrong in any relationship, surely I'm the one to blame."

"He doesn't think that." She told me.

"Just take this as some sign that maybe it's time to tell him."

I didn't know we were far enough from the pack so they wouldn't hear us but I decided to play safe and talk in riddles. She was perfectly aware of what I was talking about.

"I guess you're right." She sighed.

"And there is the perfect opportunity." I told her when I saw Embry and Jared coming out of the forest.

Jackie seemed kind of nervous while Embry still looked mad. The pack took that as a clear sign to get the hell away from here. They couldn't get to their cars fast enough and even thought Brady had still whined that he wanted to see their fight, they had all scrambled in five minutes time.

"We should get going as well." Jacob told me when he started steering me to his truck.

I was glad I didn't come here with Jackie because then I would have been forced to stay and witness their awkward conversation. So I quickly got into Jacob's car and he took off.

"What was that all about?" He asked me as soon as we were on the road.

"Jackie just had something to tell him." I shrugged.

I thought it would be best not to tell Jacob about it. After all I had promised her I wouldn't tell anyone and that included Jacob. I also didn't know if she was telling Embry the whole story now or just coming up with an excuse. If Embry didn't know and I'd tell Jacob, they would see it in his mind and that would really make the bomb burst. The link their minds make is really a source to be reckoned with.

"He yelled at you?" He asked me calmly but I could tell he was really tense.

"He was upset." I told him.

"That still doesn't give him the right to yell at you." He grumbled.

I shifted a little closer to him and leaned my head on his shoulder. It never ceases to amaze me how a simple touch from me can calm him down in a flash. It's as if I have super powers.

"I'm not mad about it, so you shouldn't be either. He's just not used to Jackie hiding things from him as opposed to us, we are masters at it."

"Erin." He sighed.

"I'm sorry, that was a terrible joke I made." I apologised.

I really wasn't angry with him for all that anymore, as long as he never ever does it again. But I think he's learned his lesson now and that won't happen. Besides what could get worse than some slut kissing him and Bella giving birth to a hybrid?

"Do you know what Jackie has been hiding?" He asked me.

"I do." I sighed. "But I won't tell you."

"Why not?" He looked a little hurt that I didn't want to tell him.

"It's hardly fair that you'd know and Embry doesn't. And it's not really something about me so I don't see why you would want to know it so desperately. And I gave her my word."

"But you'll tell me eventually?"

"I figure you'll know as soon as you phase next time, that is if Jackie is telling Embry right now."

"And it has nothing to do with us?"

"No." I smiled at him.

He left it at that. For the next five minutes I rested my head against his shoulder and looked out the window.

"Where are we going?" I frowned.

This was most definitely not the way to my house and we had just passed his.

"Sam's."

"Why?"

"Pack meeting." He grumbled, obviously no pleased with that.

"Why are you taking me there? I can understand why you'd have to go to a pack meeting but since I'm not a werewolf, why should I go?"

"The other imprints will be there as well."

That was hardly an answer. I kept staring at him until he told me.

"While we have our pack meeting, Emily wants you to have some bonding time with the other imprints."

What? I don't want to do that! Bonding time between girls usually involves gossiping and painting each other's toe nails. None of things could possibly sound appealing to me.

"Thanks for the head's up, now turn around!" I told him.

"I can't do that Erin. I even think it's a good idea."

I stared at him with big eyes. How could that be a good idea? Plus I already knew all the imprints and they belong in the category of people I don't mind talking to. That's as much progress as you can expect in this period of time.

"All the other imprints always pop by at the house and hang out with the pack. I was hoping you would like to do that too." He shrugged.

"But I do hang out with the pack." I defended myself but he looked like he didn't believe me. "Okay, maybe not really the pack but I do hang out with the imprints." Sometimes. Rarely. "Jackie is already my best friend, I had a heart-to-heart chat with Emily, Kim's just really shy and Claire is not really in my age category."

"Please?" He asked me and then he looked at me with those big brown begging eyes and I found myself agreeing to this without wanting to.

He stopped in front of their house and we got out of the car. I grabbed Jacob's hand and he seemed rather pleased at it. I no longer knock on this door so we both just walked in. The entire pack seemed to already be there with the exception of Embry but I figured he was held up by Jackie's confession. The living room suddenly looked really small with all those large boys in it. I didn't see Emily or Kim but I figured they must be in the kitchen. I reluctantly greeted the boys and I immediately wished I hadn't.

"Hi there, virgin no more." Jared laughed and all the boys joined in.

I have never blushed more than I did in that moment. Forget about what I said earlier today. This is the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to me, though they are related.

"The things I endure for you." I told Jacob before entering the kitchen.

I felt absolutely no desire to be around the boys anymore. Kim and Emily were indeed in the kitchen and guess what, they weren't cooking. I thought I might faint at the impossible sight.

"Hi Erin. I'm so glad Jacob brought you over." I'm sure Emily had something to do with it. "Have a seat."

They were drinking tea and eating biscuits. Huh, maybe I wouldn't terribly mind sitting here. For the next half an hour we talked about random stuff varying from hobbies to dating a shape-shifter. Kim had just been telling us, mainly me since Emily had been there, about when Jared told her he was a shape-shifter. Kind of funny how such a quite girl had thrown such a tantrum when he had told her he could morph into a big wolf, of course that only happened after the fainting.

"Hey guys." Jackie smiled, entering the kitchen.

Well, she definitely didn't look like a girl who just hard the biggest fight with her boyfriend. She grabbed a seat and sat down next to me.

"You told Embry?" I asked her while nibbling on another one of Emily's cookies.

"Yeah, and he didn't take it very well." She sighed.

"What happened?" Emily asked her eagerly.

"I told Embry I'm not applying for any colleges other than Port Angeles community college."

"What? Why?" Emily asked her.

"Because he knew there was something I wasn't telling him so-"

"No, I mean why aren't you applying?" Emily interrupted her.

Jackie explained once again that she didn't want to leave La Push because then she wouldn't be with Embry all the time. Thanks to the look on Emily's face I can freely say that she shared my opinion and Jackie shouldn't do this just to be with a boy. Okay, the boy isn't just a boy but her soul mate but isn't that the beauty of it? No matter what happens, they'll be together whether she goes to New York or not.

"Jackie, you want to give that all up?" Kim asked her.

"Of course, don't you?" Jackie asked her.

"No, I have thought about it but Jared convinced me otherwise. I'm going to Seattle next year. I'll come back every weekend and compared to how much time I spend with Jared now that isn't a lot but I do want to go to college there." Kim said.

That was a better solution than Jackie's. I could see her looking at Kim, contemplating if there was some possibility for her to do the same.

"What about you, Erin?" Emily asked me.

"I'm going to Port Angeles community college but that's a choice I made a long time ago. I wouldn't change it because I met a boy." I said while looking at Jackie.

She sighed, mumbling it wasn't just a boy. I was still hoping she'd change her mind about the whole thing, preferably soon if she still needed to apply to some schools.

"Well, I'm glad that's something I don't have to worry about." Emily smiled. Lucky girl. "Then again I do have a wedding to worry about."

"You've been saying that for over a year now." Kim rolled her eyes. It's a pretty funny thing to see.

"I know but Sam and I have finally picked a date." She smiled.

Immediately all the three heads turned towards her in awe. I knew Sam and Emily had been engaged for a while now but she never talked about any preparations for a wedding so I guessed it wouldn't be in the near future.

"Oh my god, when?" Jackie went in completely-overexcited-girl-mode.

"August the second." She beamed.

"That's in five months!" Jackie shrieked.

Sometimes I find it hard to believe my best friend is such a girl. Of course I'm a girl as well but not like her, definitely not like her. Kim seemed excited as well but nowhere near as much as Jackie was. She was practically bouncing in her seat.

"Yes, but it will be a small wedding so there won't be too many preparations. And I wanted to ask you girls to be my bridesmaids."

Of course we all agreed to it. Me as well, after I made sure she wouldn't let me wear anything pink or fluffy or with ruffles. Like I said I'm still a girl so eventually I also got kind of excited about the approaching wedding.

Pack meeting was finally over and since Jacob refused to leave, I had to stay as well until Jackie told me she needed to head home anyway and was willing to give me a ride. I quickly said goodbye to Jacob who pouted once I told him I wouldn't be staying. I didn't really feel the need to sit in a room with nine boys and one girl who all saw me naked recently. When Jackie pulled her car into my drive way, she also cut the engine and got out of the car.

"I thought you had to get home?" I asked her when she followed me to the front door.

"I lied. There's just something I want to talk to you about." She shrugged.

I wonder what that something might be. Maybe it had to do with next year and her choice in college, maybe something she didn't want to say in front of Emily and Kim. I walked into the kitchen, pulled out a drink for the both of us and sat down at the table.

"What is it?"

"I can't believe you didn't tell me you slept with Jacob!"

I almost spit out my drink, or choked on it.

"What?" I sputtered.

"You heard me! Why didn't you tell me?"

Honestly I hadn't really thought about it. Jackie and I haven't spoken a lot these days since we're both really caught up in our relationship. But if I had thought about it, I still wouldn't have told her because first of all: that's as private as it gets, even thought pretty much the entire pack knows. Secondly, she didn't tell me about her and Embry's first time so why should I?

"How do you even know that in the first place?"

"Embry told me."

"What, that just randomly comes up in your conversations? '_Hey, guess what. I saw you're best friend naked today in Jacob's mind'_." I made a lousy imitation of Embry.

"No, it wasn't like that. I told him today that I was really embarrassed about the fact that everyone knew he and I had been arguing in the parking lot today and he told me there were more embarrassing things in the world."

And he came up with me as an example? Great! I groaned and put my face in my hands. This embarrassment will never go away again.

"But you still didn't explain why you didn't tell me."

"Why would I have told you? It's not like you told me about your first time with Embry."

"We haven't done it yet." She blushed.

"What?"

If me and Jacob have already done it, she and Embry must have too, right? They've been together longer than me and Jacob.

"I just don't feel like I'm ready for that yet. And it still feels too soon in our relationship." She explained.

Too soon in her relationship? If it's too soon for hers then what does that make me?

"Oh my god, I'm a slut!" I groaned.

"No, you're not. You're just more mature than me in that department." She laughed.

She could be right. After all I was glad me and Jacob had done it, even though it had brought a lot of embarrassment with it.

"So?"

"So what?"

"Are you going to tell me how it was?"

I was shocked! Why would she want to know such a thing in detail? I wouldn't, if the situation was reversed.

"I'm not going to talk to you about the first time I had sex with Jacob."

"You what?" An angry voice came from behind me.

I did not want to turn around but I did so anyway. In the door opening stood my father, angrier than I had ever seen him in my life and it scared the crap out of me. I felt like I couldn't move anymore.

"I'm just going to... bye." Jackie mumbled before rushing out of my house. I can't blame her. I really wish I could run away now as well.


	59. Bad on a scale from 8 to 10

_Thank you so much for the reviews I've gotten for chapter 58: thank you __**Imprinting Magic, Tinkerbell-lover-Ms-Write-It, MysteriousAndChaotic, ForeverTeamEdward13, kikikiki, MaygenLynn, Becca97, BarbieRachel, nene82743, adids14, happinie93, bookfreak345, lol monkeys, Alenerien, luckystarX. **__ Call me a little dramatic but I'm under the impression that I've been getting less reviews lately and that fewer people are reading this story. Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful to all the people I do but I have a theory about it. They are either_

_Not interested in this sotry anymore which they are allowed to do but in which case I'd really like to know why. Was there a twist you didn't appreciate or something? Feel free to tell me._

_People are too lazy to review. I totally respect that since I'm a very lazy person as well. In which case people just need a little motivation._

_So I present to you 'MOTIVATION': Since it's spring break for me right now (I don't know if it's the same everywhere) I promise to update again before next Monday (extra chapter! :D) but only if I get 25 reviews for this chapter :) I know I'm practically blackmailing you to review right now but sadly I am not above the need for appreciation, which means I want reviews. Now I hope you will all do that but I also hope you'll enjoy this new chapter. _

_(I know it's a lot of blabla so if you just scrolled right down to the bottom, well, then you missed my promise for an extra chapter ;))_

**Chapter 59**

My father was livid. My father was furious. My father was pretty much everything you could possibly be that results in killing your own daughter. I wisely kept my mouth shut when he yelled at me for the next half an hour.

"How could you be so stupid, Erin! You're seventeen for God's sake! Do you even know what the consequences could be of your reckless action!"

That went on again for another half an hour. I'm grounded. I am so very grounded. He didn't even tell me for how long which probably means I'm grounded until I undo what I did. I'm pretty sure you can't get your virginity back once it's gone so that means I'm grounded for life.

By now I had pretty much given up on defending myself and just endured my father's rant. My brother had come home and even he tried to get away from my father's fury. I thought he might sit down in the kitchen and enjoy the show since he would love it when I'm the one being yelled at instead of him. It's usually always at him.

I couldn't even defend myself. He wouldn't allow me to tell him we had been safe and I had thought it through. It just would have made him angrier. So after enduring his anger for almost an hour and a half, he sent me up to my room. When I got there I decided to not anger my father any further and made my homework. I think my dad might be a little more strict on me so I wouldn't risk him finding Jacob in my bed tonight. I texted him that he shouldn't come over and that I'll tell him the reason tomorrow in school.

My dad was driving me to school himself today. He didn't want me to go with Jacob and Jackie never picks me up anymore. The drive to school was hell. No one said a word but Bryan sat in the back with that smirk on his face that said he was clearly enjoying my torture. I was glad when we finally arrived even though it's kind of embarrassing when your dad has to drop you off. Bryan quickly got out but before I could my dad stopped me.

"I'll pick you up after school. You get immediately in the car."

His tone made it clear that I had no say in it so I nodded and got out. I sighed deeply before making my way over to the building. Unfortunately I ran into Jacob really fast.

"Hey." He smiled before kissing my cheek but it didn't take long for him to realise what a mood I was in.

"What's wrong?" He asked me, worry clear on his face.

"I'm grounded." I grumbled.

"Why? Did you do something wrong?"

"Actually, you did something wrong." I mumbled.

"Me? Did he found out it was me who send him the text to say you were spending the night at Jackie's?"

"Not really. My dad knows we slept together and now he has grounded me for all eternity." I sighed.

"How come your dad knows? Did you tell him?"

Why would I tell my father such a thing? There are already way too many people who know about it and some even got to see a slideshow of it. I wouldn't be crazy enough to tell my dad about it. I would have completely expected this reaction. God, I wish Jackie hadn't talked to me about it yesterday at my house.

"Of course not but he overheard a conversation between me and Jackie when we talked about it."

"You talk about it?" He tried really hard not to grin.

"I didn't want to but she asked me why I hadn't told her about it." I sighed.

"Why didn't you?"

"Can we please stop talking about it? It already caused enough trouble as it is!"

For the rest of the walk to my classroom he didn't say anything about it, actually he didn't say anything at all. He looked kind of sad and in deep thought. Maybe I shouldn't have yelled at him. It's not his fault my dad found out and grounded me.

"Do you regret it?" He asked me before I could enter the room.

The way he looked at me right now made me feel really bad. I shouldn't have yelled at him, now he thinks I regret sleeping with him.

"No, of course not! I just wish my dad hadn't found out about it but I'd do it again." I kissed him on the lips.

"Again? Like now?" He grinned.

It's really incredible how fast his mood can change. One moment he's all depressed and now he's being cocky.

"No." I told him before kissing him one last time and getting in class.

Classes were boring, the entire day was boring and it wasn't about to get better since my dad would pick me up as soon as school was over so I wouldn't even get to spend any time with Jacob. When I got into the car, he still looked really pissed at me. I don't think that will go away any time soon.

I was lying on my bed when suddenly the phone rang. The screen said Jackie and normally I would pick up immediately but I already had a good idea what she wanted to talk about and that's what got me in trouble in the first place. Eventually I did pick up the phone because it's not really her fault I got grounded. Even though it kind of is.

"Hi Jackie."

"Hey Erin. I didn't get the chance to talk to you in school today so I just wanted to tell you that I'm so very sorry I got you in trouble yesterday. I truly am."

She sounded sincere enough and I do know she didn't do it on purpose. It's not like she knew my dad was about to walk in on our conversation and ground me for life.

"That's okay. I am kind of pissed that it happened but you didn't know."

"I really didn't."

"That's okay Jackie. I'm not mad."

"Thank god. Do you think you could repeat that to Jacob because when I talked to him today, he seemed to blame me for getting you in trouble."

I laughed a little. Jacob is actually the reason I'm in trouble, not Jackie. If he wasn't so goddamn good looking and loveable, I wouldn't have slept with him. But I can't really blame this whole situation on him either. That's the worst part about it, nobody is actually the blame for what happened. This would be way easier to endure if I could actually be angry at someone about this.

Get up, be brought to school by my dad, go to classes, go home with my dad, eat, sleep, get up and repeat the entire circle. That's pretty much how the entire week went and the worst part was that Jacob didn't sneak through my window anymore. I had told him not to do so myself because I didn't want to risk it and it would have made me feel really guilty for deceiving my dad like that again, but I missed him. I only saw him during lunch and when I just arrived at school. And it also affected my mood since I don't sleep that well without Jacob in my bed. But that was all about to change. It's a new week now and being locked in my house an entire weekend, had given me some time to think. And that made me realise that my dad couldn't watch me every moment of every day this week since he had to work the night shift. So tonight would be the first time in a week that there wasn't constant parental supervision and I was going to ask Jacob to come over.

"Guess what?" I asked Jacob during lunch.

The rest of the pack was sitting together but I had wanted to sit with Andy and Jacob joined. Unfortunately Andy was flirting with Dana again right now, the girl he had dumped after she was suffocating him! And he has a girlfriend! Jacob didn't pay much attention to them and well, we all know my full attention goes to Jacob.

"My dad is working at night this week so tonight I'll be home alone." I smiled. "Bryan will be there as well but we could just lock him up in the cellar."

"You and your brother have a weird relationship." He said.

I shrugged.

"But I'll come over tonight. Through the front door?"

"You know we have one?" I gasped. "Of course through the front door."

"But I still can't spend the night." He sulked.

"Please, don't be like that. I just don't think it's a good idea now that my dad is watching my every move 24/7. If he catches you in my bed after all this, he'll ban me to Siberia."

"I don't want that either." He smiled.

Some kids out of Bryan's year passed by and were all staring at my arm. It still gets to me even though most people have stopped with the gaping now. I still feel like an animal in the zoo when they're looking at me like that. Luckily Jacob didn't noticed the annoyed look that crossed my face. He seemed to be very occupied with staring at the table.

"What's on your mind?" I asked him while taking his big hand in my tiny ones.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything." I smiled at him.

"Embry told me your staying in La Push next year instead of going away to college. Does that have anything to do with me?"

Those boys gossip more than girls do but then again they can't really help it since they can hear each other thinking.

"My world does not evolve around you completely, you know. I decided to go to Port Angeles community college and stay in la Push over a year ago. We hadn't spoken to each other once back then."

My answer seemed to make him less depressed. Maybe he felt guilty that he made me stay in La Push but it honestly didn't have anything to do with him. I don't know what I would have done had I not decided what I'd do a long time ago, before we got together.

"Good, I was afraid you felt like you had to stay for me."

"That's definitely a benefit of staying here but it's not the reason I made that choice."

"What was?"

"I want to stay here, at home, in La Push. My brother and father definitely would be completely lost without me and I would just not enjoy being away from here."

"You're staying because of your dad?"

"And, believe it or not, Bryan." I grinned.

"Sometimes I forget you're a real family person." He smiled.

"Family person? I just have my dad and a brother who annoys the hell out of me."

"Yes, but I think you're amazing for taking care of them." He told me before kissing me.

I was actually in a good mood once I got to my father's car. He seemed suspicious of it but like the past days he didn't say anything to me until we got home.

"I have to go to work but Mrs. Hayworth will be here in a few minutes." He told me while grabbing his coat.

"Mrs. Hayworth? What is she coming over for?"

"You are still grounded, Erin. Did you really think I would leave you unsupervised? Mrs. Hayworth has agreed to keep an eye on you and this is also the perfect opportunity for you to apologise for hitting her stepdaughter."

Mrs. Hayworth was coming. And I would have to apologise for hitting Emma in the face. Jacob won't be able to come over, once again. This was in no way an improvement of my situation. My dad had been right, the doorbell rang a few minutes after dad had left for his job. I dreaded opening the door myself but Bryan beat me to it.

"Hello Bryan. Your dad asked me to stay here tonight."

My brother just grinned and let her in the house. I came into the hallway to greet her and was pleasantly surprised to see the woman held no kind of grudge against me. She did however didn't look as radiant as she did last time I saw her, not counting the incident at the principal's office. But I figured the reason for that must be the fact that her new husband had moved back to LA.

"Hi Erin." She smiled and I greeted her back.

She was even nice enough to cook for me and Bryan. That made me think that maybe I should apologise to her about hitting Emma. Not that I was sorry about giving her a black eye but I felt like that might have been the reason the Hurleys moved. Seth told me that according to Zoe the reason they moved is because Emma started hating this place and made life so miserable for the others that eventually their father decided it would be better if his children moved back home. So indirectly I did have something to do with it. I decided I would apologise to her after dinner, when we were doing the dishes and Bryan went up to his room to 'make his homework'.

"I'm really sorry, Mrs. Hayworth."

"What do you have to be sorry about?" She smiled.

"For hitting Emma, since that caused the Hurleys to move away."

"I won't say it wasn't wrong of you to punch Emma because it was, but you are by no means responsible for them going back to LA." She sighed. "They all had a hard time adjusting here which is understandable seeing the many differences between LA and La Push. Brighton thought it would be better for all of them to live back home."

"Are you getting a divorce?" I asked her.

"No, me and Brighton are still very much in love. We'll just have to find another way to make it work. Maybe I could move to LA." She said.

She wouldn't. Mrs. Hayworth has lived in La Push her entire life, she could never leave this place. I think she knew that because she quickly changed the subject. I felt bad for her. She had finally found someone to love again and then it still didn't work out.

Only when the doorbell rang did I realise I had forgotten to tell Jacob he couldn't come over tonight. Mrs. Hayworth was still here to keep an eye on me and if she saw Jacob, she would most definitely tell my father about it.

"I'll get it." I quickly ran to the front door, hoping she wouldn't come and see for herself who it was.

I had been right, it was Jacob at the door. He was wearing a shirt for a change and the goofy smile was plastered on his face. It might be goofy but it still takes my breath away. My heart almost ached with the idea of having to send him away after barely spending any time together in a week.

"No, my father isn't home right now." I said loud enough so Mrs Hayworth would hear it.

Jacob just looked at me as if I had lost my mind.

"I'm afraid you'll have to come back some other time." I told him while pointing up.

He seemed to understand that I wanted him to go to my room through the window but he still didn't get why I was acting so weird. Did I really have to spell it out? I thought it was pretty clear there was someone babysitting me. Jacob turned around the corner and I closed the door again.

"Who was it?" Mrs. Hayworth asked me, coming out of the kitchen.

"Don't know." I shrugged before practically storming up the stairs.

When I came to my room Jacob was already there, standing by the window. I quickly walked over to where he was and threw my arms around his waist, trying to pull myself even closer to him than I already was. I felt him pull me closer to him as well and place a kiss on the top of my head.

"What was that all about?" He asked me.

"My dad asked Mrs. Hayworth to babysit me." I grumbled and I felt even more pissed off about it when I could feel Jacob shake in laughter. "It's not funny. It means that once again we can't spend any time together." I whined.

"I'm here now." He said, kissing me on the lips.

God, I had missed those lips. Our kisses couldn't be the make-out session I wanted them to be in school but there was no stopping us now. I took my hands away from his waist and tangled them in his hair. He let out a little groan and it made me smile into the kiss. One of my hands wandered off to underneath his shirt and before I could fully comprehend what was happening, I was lying on my bed with Jacob hovering over me with that sexy grin in place. He started lathering me with kisses, hot kisses, and I could feel him start tugging at my shirt.

"Jacob." I groaned, trying to stop him but didn't really put much effort in it. "She's right downstairs." I gasped when he lightly nibbled on my ear.

Screw it! If I want to sleep with my boyfriend, I will! And I really, really want to! I returned his kisses just as passionately as before, while trying to get his shirt off. Why did he feel the need to wear a shirt today? Finally it got off and I was starting to unbuckle his pants – mine were already passed that stage- when we suddenly heard the door open and someone gasp. We immediately stopped what we were doing and when I turned my head towards the door, there stood Mrs. Hayworth completely shocked. Oh boy, everything just got a degree worse.


	60. Creeps and freaks are everywhere

_Woohoo! I don't know if you've noticed but there is an actual chapter this time! Everything is fixed and as you can see: I've still got my story. Thank God! So I'd like to thank all the ones who reviewed the previous chapter; __**nene82743, wolfhappiness, LoveBites'LikeSugarMuffin, Luli Cullen, CrissYami, Becca97, Catalina-Loves-Paul, harrellgirl, angel057, Alenerien, Sara, MysteriousAndChaotic, purplecheer14, Z, Unknown girl, NerdyTARDIScompanion, bookfreak345, KatelynnLuvsWWE, happinie93, ChelseaDagger14, DreamerofDreams56, ForeverTeamEdward13, cullensrule, BarbieRachel, Imprinting Magic, GiaLunaLove, Tinkerbell-Lover-Ms-Write-It, RavenOfLiterature, Wasipi, weasleytwins12, PurpleWolfSoda, lestrangegirlwritings1539 and blitler23!**__ That is a lot of people! :D So I got to my 25 reviews but thanks to laptop issues I couldn't update... But you still reviewed and I keep my promise. I will update again Thursday evening or Friday. You'll see!_

**Chapter 60**

There's a real competition going on to win the title of most embarrassing moment in my life. First there's the fact that the entire pack has seen me naked in Jacob's mind. Secondly, my dad heard me talk to Jackie about having sex for the first time with Jacob. And last but not least there is this moment right now, when Mrs. Hayworth walked in on me and Jacob trying to rip the clothes off each other. Somehow all those moments have something to do with Jacob. Interesting...

She was still gaping at us and neither I or Jacob had moved. What do you say in a situation like this? The only thing making this situation possibly worse is if my brother would show up as well. He is home though so it would be a very good idea to put my clothes back on. Mrs. Hayworth eventually went downstairs, still wearing that shocked expression on her face. Once she was gone, I pushed Jacob off me and started getting dressed real quickly, mumbling 'Oh my God' the entire time.

"Well, that was awkward." Jacob eventually broke the silence.

"Awkward? That was mortifying! I can't believe I let you in my house!" I yelled.

"Hey, don't get mad at me because you can't keep your hands to yourself." He teased.

Really? He thinks this is an excellent time to tease me? I just looked at him angrily and I think he took the hint. He shouldn't be making fun of this situation.

"I should probably go then." He said, making his way over to my window.

"What are you doing?" I stopped him.

"Leaving. I'm pretty sure she won't appreciate it if I stay any longer."

"You can't leave through the window. Normal people don't do that and since Mrs. Hayworth is still under the impression that you're normal, you have to leave through the front door!" I pushed him out of my room.

He let me and moments later he left the house, saying goodbye to Mrs. Hayworth cheerfully, as if she had not just walked in on us getting naked. Why isn't he taking this seriously? With Jacob gone I was left alone with Mrs. Hayworth in the living room, feeling extremely uncomfortable. What do you say to the woman who just walked in on you and your boyfriend almost having sex, after your father asked her to babysit you because you were punished for having sex with said boyfriend in the first place? I can't say I've had experience with that kind of situation.

"Are you...going to tell my dad?" I asked her even though I already knew the answer was yes.

"No." She surprised me. "You're old enough to make decisions like that and Daniel is a little naive if he thought you would never do such a thing. But I don't appreciate you sneaking around like that."

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

She just nodded and left it at that.

She kept her word. When I saw my dad again the next evening before he had to go to work, he didn't mention anything about it so I figured she didn't tell him. But she had told him she could no longer keep an eye on me, probably because she didn't want to walk in on any embarrassing moments anymore. I had learned my lesson though. I'm never again going to try and sleep with Jacob in my house. There are just too many things that could go wrong.

I had hoped that would mean no supervision tonight and maybe Jacob could really come over tonight, though we won't be doing anything in my bedroom. Unfortunately that idea got shattered when my dad told me I simply had to accompany him to work. I felt like a five-year old kid that couldn't be left alone so had to go to work with her daddy and make drawings during his hours. This sucked even more.

So the entire week I spend my nights at the hospital. Jacob wasn't happy about it, rather angry and worried about it. Forks hospital is Cullen territory and the pack normally isn't allowed to go there. Jacob didn't like the idea of me being completely unprotected in a place with vampires. I was hardly afraid of Dr. Cullen, the man was too nice to frighten me. The hospital may not be really big but it's still big enough to not run into him. Even though I told Jacob all those things, he wasn't happy about this. It wasn't until Friday that I ran into a Cullen, but it wasn't the doctor.

I had been waiting outside in the parking lot for my dad who still had to pass by someone's office before leaving. I had been sitting at the entrance of the hospital when a fancy car pulled up. Now, you don't see cars like that in La Push, I'm pretty sure cars like that aren't common in Forks either. When I saw a pale man with golden eyes get out of the car, I knew he was a Cullen. They were after all filthy rich. I had only met two Cullen, the doctor and Edward. This man was neither. He asked a passing nurse to call his father and he waited in the parking lot. Why didn't he go inside? Maybe he can't stand the scent of blood. If so I'm guessing he must be the vampire who controls emotions. Jacob told me he has the hardest time resisting human blood. Of course with my luck, he's the one I run into.

He scared me and he must have felt that emotion because suddenly he looked up, into my eyes. Those golden eyes are way scarier right now than when I saw them on Dr. Cullen. I hoped he'd stay next to his car but he suddenly started making his way over to me. My natural instinct would have been to get scared but surprisingly enough I was calm. I'm guessing he had something to do with it. But even though he made me feel calmer than I should, my eyes still got big when he approached me.

"You're Erin, right?" He asked me with a slight southern accent.

I couldn't help but nod. His voice had sounded a little like Dr. Cullens', with such a musical tone in it. I found it hard to do anything but gape at him.

"Will you thank Jacob again for keeping our family safe? We owe him a lot." He tried to smile but he just looked constipated to me.

If they owe him so much, why can't they leave me alone? I'm sure Jacob would appreciate that more than a simple 'thank you'. Before I could try and say anything to the scary vampire, my dad came out of the hospital.

"Who's this?" My dad asked, eyeing up the Cullen.

"My name's Jasper Cullen, sir." He answered.

Jasper Cullen. I'm sure he would haunt me in my dreams tonight. My dad was standing so close to him. I didn't like it one bit. I wanted to get out of here. The vampire was scaring the hell out of me and I couldn't even properly freak out because he kept sending calmness my way.

"Dad, can we go?"

My dad told the Cullen it was nice to meet him and we walked back to the car. When I finally made it inside I was relieved to be away from the vampire but my dad's behaviour freaked me out even more.

"You know, Erin, I've been completely unreasonable." He sighed.

Unreasonable? My dad? Maybe he over exaggerated a little with his supervision but I'm sure not a lot of parents would be happy to hear their daughter talk about her first time with the boyfriend they already dislike big time.

"You shouldn't be grounded for something so trivial."

Trivial? Is my dad on drugs right now? Seems like the only logical explanation to me.

"Dad, do you have any idea what you're saying right now?" I asked him with wide eyes.

"Of course I do and I can just hope you can forgive me for being so ridiculous. You know what? I'll make it up to you and drop you off at Jacob's place. It's already very late but you can spend the night there." He smiled.

Who was this man? Why was my dad suddenly so okay with Jacob? It's not even okay, he's practically shoving me in his direction. What had happened? He had been so angry and disappointed in me just minutes ago and now he was suddenly completely understanding and even encouraging! It took me till the end of the ride to figure out what had happened to my dad. The vampire had tampered with his emotions. Maybe he thought he was helping me but it freaked me out that he had such control over my dad.

He dropped me off at Jacob's and even though I felt kind of bad for doing what my dad told me since it wasn't really what he wanted, it's what the vampire made him feel, I still rang the doorbell. I just hope I didn't wake anyone. I could have told dad that I would just stay at home tonight but how often would my dad propose something like this? And I had really missed Jacob these past two weeks.

"Erin?" Jacob seemed really surprised to find me here.

"Can I come in?"

"Of course."

He took my hand and pulled me gently into his house. My dad had already left, not in the slightest bit worried about me. What if Jacob hadn't been home, what if he had been patrolling? I would have been really screwed then.

"Not that I'm not glad to see you but what are you doing here?" He asked me after pulling me in his lap. He had been watching a movie and Billy had apparently already gone to bed.

"My dad dropped me off, telling me I should spend the night here with you."

Jacob gave me exactly the same look I got on my face when my dad had told me this. The normal Daniel Thompson never would have let his daughter do something like that. The normal Daniel Thompson had grounded his daughter for life, remember?

"Why?"

"I ran into Jasper Cullen today." I told him carefully, for a good reason.

He immediately started shaking in anger and I had to tell him I was okay at least five times before he calmed down. He was calmer now but I had noticed he was holding me tighter now than before I told him.

"What did he want?" He grumbled, still really angry that a vampire had gotten so close to me, even if it was a vegetarian one.

"He asked me to thank you again."

"He could have send me a note or something. He didn't have to get close to you for that."

"It's not like he actually sought me out, he just happened to be there at the same time as me." I tried to reassure him.

It's weird how I have to calm Jacob down even though I was the one completely freaking out at the Cullen's presence.

"He tampered with my dad's emotions. That's why he's suddenly so okay with me being here."

"Did he try to control yours as well?"

By the tone in Jacob's voice I knew he hated the fact that the vampire could so easily change my emotions and have that control over me, as much as I had hated the fact he could affect my dad like that. We both didn't like it one bit.

"He made sure I was calm."

"Calm?"

"I didn't exactly forget that you told me he has the most trouble with their 'diet'." I told him.

"He shouldn't be anywhere near you. Next time I see him-"

"Next time? I thought you weren't going to Forks anymore?" I quickly shot up again after nuzzling in the crook of Jacob's neck.

"I wasn't but now that I've heard he was near you, I'm going to tell him to stay the hell away from you." He tensed up.

"Nicely, I presume?" I smiled lightly, knowing very well that wouldn't be the case.

"Not at all."

"Look, as much as I would love you telling the vampire not to come near me again and you could also tell him to not tamper with my dad's emotions since I'd rather have a pissed off, overprotective dad instead of the creep who drove me here, I don't want you going there." I sighed.

"I'm not going there to have a good time. I just want to make sure he doesn't do anything like that again, none of them will."

"Please just tell me you won't go there anymore?" I pleaded.

He could also just call the Cullens and make it a threat with just sound, no image to match the angry voice. I just don't want him going there since Bella would be there. It's not that I'm jealous of her but from what I hear about her past with Jacob, she's got the bad habit of never letting him go. What if she becomes selfish again and decides that even though she's a leech now, she still wants my Jacob in her life? He's too kind to tell her to go to hell so I'm not comfortable with him going there. Last time he did, at least she was unconscious.

"Fine, I won't go there." He promised.

"Thank you." I kissed him quickly on the lips.

"You know, you can do that longer if you want to." He grinned.

"Normally I would love to but I'm really tired Jacob." I told him, snuggling closer to him.

I could definitely fall asleep like this. I felt him nod and while I was drifting into sleep, I could feel him lifting me up and carrying me to his warm and comfy bed.


	61. The Ultimate Evil

_So as promised, I give you the extra chapter! I want to thank all the people who reviewed: __**LoveBites'LikeSugerMuffin, Imprinting Magic, Airah, harrellgirl, mrslisablack, MysteriousAndChaotic, Geekster, Smileeey, Luli Cullen, Becca97, angel057, ForeverTeamEdward13, Alenerien, nene82743, KatelynnLuvsWWE, happinie93 and bookfreak345!**_

_So I've gotten to chapter 61 now and that's a lot of chapters! I never thought I'd get so far with this story, I had figured 20 or 30 chapters. But the story is getting kind of long now and I'm starting to write towards the end. Don't be too worried. It will be spread over a lot of chapters so I'll continue this story for a while longer. _

**Chapter 61**

I love Saturdays, mainly because I don't have to go to school and on the condition that I'm not grounded, it means I can spend an entire day with Jacob. He didn't have patrols this weekend and my dad had declared me 'free to do as I please' last night. And it got even better: Jacob made me breakfast! Well, he pretty much just put slices of bread in the toaster but it's the thought that counts. I had slept in one of his shorts and a shirt last night and that's exactly how I showed up in the kitchen this morning. After checking if Billy was there of course.

"Hi gorgeous." Jacob smiled, wrapping his arms around me.

Such a cheesy line but coming from him and directed at me, I'm totally okay with that.

"Good morning." I smiled back at him.

"So what do you want to do today?" He asked me when we ate.

"I don't know. We haven't gone to Port Angeles in a while and there really isn't all that much to do here." I shrugged.

I couldn't wait for warmer temperatures to make their way over to La Push. Days where we can actually swim are rare but usually we can walk around in shorts. Now we have to walk around in big winter coats even though it's already nearing the end of April.

"Okay and how about tonight, I take you to this great place in port Angeles where Jared took Kim last week?" He smiled.

I agreed and for the rest of the morning we talked about stuff that really wasn't all that interesting, yet somehow it was with Jacob. He had gone out to Sam's place to discuss what happened with Jasper Cullen before we took off and that left me all alone in his house since I had wanted to stay in the warm house, being lazy in front of the TV. I did however change into my normal clothes since I had no idea when Billy would get back from his visit at the Clearwater's place. Besides that I feel completely at home here. But I wasn't so sure on what the policy was when the doorbell rang. Because it did and I didn't know if it was okay for me to open the door. Figuring Jacob or Billy wouldn't possibly get mad over something like that, I made my way over to the front door.

"Black residence." I smiled slightly when I opened it. I had always wanted to say that. So geeky of me.

"Is Jacob there?"

The woman standing in front of me was gorgeous, absolutely breathtaking. She had long brown wavy hair and a beautiful pale complexion. Wait, a minute...pale? When I looked into her eyes, I saw the red colour I guess I should have expected but it still made me gasp out loud. Vampire! Vampire! Vampire! It kept going on and on in my head.

The woman smiled at me as if I wasn't something that was on her daily menu. I was completely frozen in shock. Jasper Cullen had frightened me, yes but this woman terrified me in the worst meaning of the word. The Cullens feed off animals but her eyes were red. Didn't that mean she fed of humans? And I just happen to be one. Oh, my god I'm going to die!

"Are you Erin?" She smiled brightly, almost excited.

Do vampires research their victims before they kill them? How else would she know my name? And she had known Jacob's as well since he's the one she had asked for when I opened the door. Now that I think of it, she seems vaguely familiar. The brown hair, the smile, the pale complexion even, they all rang a bell. And that bell practically screamed 'Bella' at me.

"You are!" She smiled. "I'm so glad I finally get to meet you." She told me while she took a step towards me.

I immediately took a large step back but I'm sure I couldn't actually run away from a vampire who wants to drink my blood.

"You don't have to be afraid of me." She frowned.

I'm pretty sure I do. She's what they call a newborn vampire and typical about them is that they can't control their thirst so excuse me for not wanting to be so close to the vampire! Where is the pack when you need them? Now would be a really good time to show up, before she eats me! Aren't they supposed to smell a vampire! And isn't she supposed to be in Forks since she's not allowed to come to La Push! What the hell!

It's like Jacob knew I needed him because suddenly I could feel a warm hand push me into the house while a body blocked the vampire from my view. I didn't have to see his face to know the man in front of me was Jacob. He was shaking and growling at the Bella vampire.

"Hello Jacob." She smiled as if there wasn't a werewolf growling at her right now.

Her smile seemed to tick him off even more and the shaking intensified. I wanted him to calm down so I placed a hand on his bare back. He did calm down a little bit but he kept growling at her.

"Why are you here?" He growled menacingly at her.

"You didn't return any of my phone calls." She shrugged.

Phone calls? Jacob didn't tell me she had tried to get in touch again. Had he been hiding something from me again?

"What phone calls?" He growled.

"I've called you several times these past few weeks and Billy told me you weren't there every time. Why are you avoiding me?" She looked upset, as far as a vampire can look that way I guess.

"He didn't say anything about phone calls." Jacob snapped at her.

Good old Billy, completely sharing my opinion of the girl/vampire in front of us.

"Well, why haven't you been around anymore?" She asked him.

"Because you're a vampire!" He growled again.

Only then did I notice the other figures coming out of the forest. The rest of the pack was here as well and they were all glaring at her. The large black wolf came closer and I remember hearing once that Sam had a black fur and was the tallest one in the pack because he was the alpha. Suddenly his face started changing, as well as his body and soon Sam stood in the spot the wolf had before. A very naked Sam. I pressed my face into Jacob's back. I did not want to see Sam naked!

"You broke the treaty." Sam growled at her as well.

"I didn't hurt anyone." She hissed.

Now she's looking a lot more like a crazy vampire than she did before. Her eyes had widened and she pulled her lips over her teeth in a snarl. Not so beautiful anymore right now.

"You passed the border." Sam growled again while getting closer to her, the pack following behind him.

"Jacob?" She turned towards us again. She seemed slightly afraid now.

"Leave." He growled.

She seemed to still be contemplating on what to do. She looked at the approaching pack once more before darting off at an incredible speed, the pack following her. She was fast. I knew vampires were fast but she was actually a blur when she moved. How could the pack possibly keep up with her?

Jacob's back muscles had been tense the entire time but slowly seemed to relax now. His protective pose also changed into a normal stand. He quickly turned around and gathered me in his arms, kissing the top of my head. His arms tightened almost painfully around me but that was okay. I figured in a way he had been just as frightened as I had been since I had opened the door. I won't be doing that again.

"Are you okay?" He asked me worriedly without letting me go.

I nodded. I really was. I mean she didn't even get the chance to get close to me and strangely enough I do believe she didn't have the intention to hurt me. But just because she didn't have the intention, doesn't mean she wouldn't have. She was still a vampire, driven by thirst.

"I never should have left you alone in the house." He sighed while tightening his hold on me.

It's not like he could have expected something like that to happen. She wasn't supposed to be here. Why would she be stupid enough to pass the border anyway and risk the peace her little vampire family has with the pack? It just didn't make any sense.

"Why did she come here?" I mumbled to his chest.

"I don't know but the pack will get it out of her." He grumbled.

"Shouldn't you be going after her as well?"

"And leave you? No way!"

He had tightened his hold on me again and even though I love the position I'm currently in, it was getting rather painful. Since he's strong enough to crack every bone in my body in this hug, I decided to try and wiggle my way out of his embrace, without any luck of course.

"Jacob? You're kind of suffocating me." I tried.

He mumbled a sorry but didn't let me go, just loosened his hold on me a little so that it was breathable again. We probably stood there for a while, all plans of our afternoon forgotten. We were disturbed by the phone ringing inside of the house.

"Let it ring." He mumbled.

"It could be important."

He still didn't move but I pulled myself out of his embrace and walked into the house, Jacob very close behind me. He was almost like my shadow. I took the phone and handed it over to him.

"Yes?" He asked annoyed while still holding me very close to him.

I could hear him have a conversation with the person on the other side of the line but since I didn't have his super hearing, I didn't know what they were talking about. All Jacob did was nod and hum and answer any questions with yes or no so that didn't really give me any clues. Eventually he hung up the phone and sighed, looking at me as if there was something he really didn't want to do or tell me.

"The pack got into a fight with the Cullens."

"Are they okay?"

"The Cullens?" He asked.

"Of course not! The pack!"

Why would I care about the leeches? Yes, I said leeches. The pack just says it all the time and it's kind of catchy. Then there's also the fact I feel like a mental patient whenever I talk about the 'vampires' even though that is what they are.

"They're fine but they want to talk about the reason Bella broke the treaty."

"She said it was to see you again." I mumbled.

Did they really have such a strong friendship beyond anything I could possibly understand? I mean, she's a vampire now, the thing Jacob hates the most and is supposed to kill yet it seemed their friendship was still very much alive since she broke the treaty between her family and the pack for it.

"That's what she said but it's not the real reason."

Or maybe it wasn't. Had she just used it as an excuse? For what? Could her devious plan secretly be to kill me so that Jacob could be her pet dog for all eternity? Probably not though.

"What is the real reason?" I asked curiously.

He shrugged and said he didn't know. Well, it's not like anyone took the time to calmly ask her but then again she is a newborn without self control who had been standing dangerously close to me. I'm glad they didn't wait to hear what she had to say before scaring her off. Long live the pack! I'm starting to like them more and more.

"Let's go." Jacob started tugging me outside, to his car.

"Where are we going?"

"Sam's. I've already told you that or did you think you weren't coming? Did you think I'd actually leave you alone now or any moment in the next weeks?" He looked at me as if it would have been ridiculous to think such a thing.

"You know, I've never looked at it this way before but your over protectiveness is kind of a turn on." I grinned at him from my seat in the car.

He stared at me as if he hadn't understood what I just said but when my grin didn't waver, he got this goofy smile on his face, before pulling out of his drive way and pulling me into his side.

I was disappointed when we got to Sam's place so fast, I had been rather comfortable in the car. Plus it will be a pack meeting which means I'll be cooped up in the kitchen again with the other imprints. I was sorely mistaken. Everyone was in the kitchen, probably talking about Bella breaking the treaty but the imprints were there as well. When me and Jacob came in, they didn't tell us to go somewhere else. Jacob simply sat down, pulled me in his lap and asked what was going on.

"The leech made it back to the border to warn the others of what had happened." Sam grumbled. "The mind reader said she had passed onto our side of the border to ask for our help."

Help? Why would the pack help the leeches? And why would she have found it necessary to get help? She's a freaking vampire!

"With what?" Jacob asked my unspoken question.

I could be mistaken but I think I saw some tense looks passing between Sam and some of the other pack members. I've got a feeling there's a wave of bad news coming our way.

"It's about the hybrid, I mean Renesmee." Sam quickly corrected himself even though I don't know why. They never had a problem referring to her as 'the thing' before and now suddenly calling her the hybrid was too offensive?

"Another vampire saw her and thought her to be an immortal child."

A what?

"An immortal child is a human child changed into a vampire at a young age."

That sounds wrong but then again the whole concept of vampires seems wrong to me.

"Since they can't be in control of their thirst, creating an immortal child is forbidden."

Forbidden? I didn't know vampires had rules to live by.

"What do you mean forbidden?" Jacob asked Sam. I love how our brilliant minds think alike. Well, sometimes they do. Rarely.

"Apparently the vampires have royalty." Sam grumbled and the pack soon did the same.

Royalty? Like king and queen kind of royalty? What use could that possibly have for bloodsucking demons?

"They're called the Volturi or something and they make up rules that apparently the vampires have to follow. One of those rules being about those children. And since some vampire thinks Renesmee is one of those children, these Volturi guys are coming to kill the Cullens."

Wow, information overdose of things I did not want to know.

"How is that our or your problem?" I asked but got a growl from Collin as a response. Wow, why is he suddenly being so aggressive?

"Normally it wouldn't be but Renesmee is our responsibility now as well. We can't let anyone hurt her because...Collin imprinted on her." Sam sighed.

What? I mean: WHAT? I would have fallen on the ground had Jacob not been holding on to me. Collin imprinted on the hybrid? What the hell! How is that even possible? I could see Jacob and the other imprints reacting the same. Kim and Jackie were practically gaping at Collin and Jacob yelled a loud 'What!' in my ear. He's totally forgiven for that because I was screaming the same thing in my mind.

"I imprinted on her." Collin told us, not looking uncomfortable in the slightest and his face ridiculously lit up when he spoke of her.

"Why?" I slipped out before I could stop it and Collin practically glared me to death. But stupid as I am, I didn't stop. "She's dead."

I'm sure Collin would have thrown something at my head, had Sam not interrupted.

"We are a little confused on that aspect as well. We always thought the wolves imprinted on women who would reproduce the best next generation of wolves." Sam said.

Imprinting suddenly sounded a lot less romantic than before. Sam thought Jacob imprinted on me so I could start birthing little alphas? That makes me feel like... what's the word? A breeding machine?

"Clearly that theory is down the drain." Brady grumbled.

"I thought that stupid theory was already diminished when Jacob imprinted on pale face over here. How would she have been able to reproduce a Quileute wolf?" Collin yelled.

I stared at him with my eyes wide open. Did he just say that? Fuck him! There is no way I'm going to support his imprint now! Jacob didn't appreciate his low comment either because I could hear him growling behind me in such a menacing way that I wasn't used to and Collin did look slightly afraid right now. Maybe I should be glad I can't see Jacob's face but I could feel him shake in anger.

"Calm down, Jacob." Sam said, using his alpha voice but it always seems to work less on Jacob because he definitely did not calm down.

"You might want to step away, Erin." Jared said, looking worried.

There is no way I'm doing that. Jacob can growl all he wants, he can even have a go at Collin's bones for all I care but I was sitting in his lap right now and if he phased I would have an additional scar. I'm not scared of Jacob but calming him down would be a good plan. I didn't get off his lap but turned around so I could look at him.

"Calm down Jacob, please?" I asked him, looking in those brown eyes.

He did calm down but still looked so incredibly angry. At least he wasn't shaking anymore and didn't look like he could phase any moment. See, there was no need for me to be afraid of Jacob.

"The power of the imprint." Quil grinned and I had to smile a little. It's kind of cool that I have such control over Jacob.

"Are we done?" Jacob asked Sam in a growling voice.

When Sam nodded, Jacob got up and pulled me to my feet. Without saying anything else he took my hand and we left the house. During the car ride we didn't say anything. Jacob was still really angry and I gave him the time he needed to cool down completely. I couldn't help but think about this new twist in the situation. Collin imprinting on the hybrid would without a doubt have big consequences.

_Tell what you think..._


	62. Vampire gathering

_Thank you all the lovely people who reviewed for chapter 61: __**ForeverTeamEdward13, FizzyJello, MysteriousAndChaotic, ChristinaAguileraFan, kikikiki, LoveBites'LikeSugarMuffin, happinie93, purplewolfsoda, Imprinting Magic, GiaLunaLove, jaa162, Shairah, nene82743, bookfreak345, KatelynnLuvsWWE, gawjesgrl190, M.N.M, Alaina08, Luli Cullen, AngelHeartFantasy12, Becca97, gfgfjtyu, harrellgirl, Kyrie and Alenerien.**_

_I was surprised that so many people thought it was a good thing Collin imprinted on Renesmee. I personally am not a big fan of it but it was necessary for my story so that the pack would side with the Cullens for when the Volturi came. _

_I've been working on some other stories as well for a while now so I'll definitely start updating another story once this one is finished but it will probably be a harry potter fic. I won't write another Jacob fic since in my mind he belongs to Erin and writing a story about him with someone else would feel like making him cheat on her :) _

_I hope you like this chapter as well._

**Chapter 62**

When we got to my house, Jacob followed me inside. I decided not to ask him why since he was still really pissed off and he had said that he wasn't leaving me alone anymore for the next weeks. Unfortunately that meant Jacob would be there when my dad got home and I'm sure the effect the vampire had on his emotions is gone by now. I was right. My dad was already home when we got to my house and he looked very displeased with Jacob's presence. I send him to the kitchen and sat down next to my dad in the living room.

"Everything okay, dad?" I asked him carefully.

"I don't know why I acted the way I did yesterday but I still don't like that boy."

"I know." I sighed.

"You're not grounded anymore."

"Really?"

"Yes, you're not a kid anymore, Erin and he is unfortunately a part of you growing up."

I walked over and gave him a hug. Not many people have the luck to have a father like him.

"Thank you. I love you, dad."

"I love you too Erin but that boy is still not staying for dinner."

I laughed and told him I could live with that. If Jacob did stay for dinner there would be nothing edible left in this house.

Entering the kitchen I saw Jacob staring at the table with a very serious and still slightly angry expression on his face. What I wouldn't give to be the mind reader right now. Well, just have his gift actually.

"What are you thinking?"

Hey, that was my line! I sat down next to Jacob and grabbed his hands while looking at him. I don't know if he'll like what I have to say.

"I'm thinking that I really want to ask, beg you almost to not help them." I sighed. "That's terribly selfish of me, I know but I'm so sick and tired of the Cullens popping up in our lives whenever they please."

"I am too but Renesmee is a part of the pack now and we can't leave her to die."

"She's Collin's responsibility, not yours! And you wouldn't leave her to die, she has her vampire family to protect her. Haven't you done enough for them yet?"

He had. Jacob was the reason the pack hadn't tried to kill the hybrid by now, a decision I'm starting to wish he never made. And the worst part is that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't told him to go to Forks on the day Bella died. I had tried to do what I thought was in Jacob's best interest but now I think I'm entitled to being a little selfish.

"Please don't get involved." I begged Jacob.

The look in his eyes made it clear he was torn between doing what I want him, need him to do and his obligation to protecting any wolf's imprint. I hated that I was making him choose between the two but I can't stand the idea of Jacob putting himself in danger once again for the Cullens, when they clearly don't deserve his help.

"Okay." He told me, taking my face into his hands.

"Really?" I asked him because for a moment I was sure he'd tell me he couldn't leave the pack hanging like that.

"Yes."

Before he could say anything else, I pressed my lips against him in a desperate way. I wanted him to understand how scared I am every time he goes on patrol, how worried I am that the next time he won't be okay, without me actually having to say it.

"Thank you."

He nodded. I'm sure it won't be easy to tell the pack he's not getting involved because I begged him to. Collin will probably dislike me even more after this but quite frankly, I really don't give a crap about what Collin thinks after everything that happened today.

Jacob didn't stay for dinner, just like I had promised my dad but of course he came through my bedroom window a few hours later.

"I told the pack I'm not getting involved." He told me while sitting in front of me on my bed.

"What did they say?" I asked him while reaching for his hand.

"Collin was angry, some were a little more understanding like Jared." I really do like that guy. "But they all agree on one thing: I'm completely whipped." But the way he said it didn't sound like he hated that. The smile definitely said otherwise.

"I'm sorry I made you do that."

I wasn't sorry enough to take it back though.

"Don't be. You have been nothing but supportive so far and I'm glad for once you're asking me to do something you want instead of asking me to do something you think is right." He kissed my hand.

"What did the Cullens say anyway about Collin imprinting on their little...hybrid?"

I can't imagine them being excited that their natural born enemy is in love with their newborn daughter.

"They don't like it, especially Bella is really pissed about it. But they do understand that means the pack is on their side now and they are grateful for that." He sighed.

Jacob also told me that he would still be going to the pack meetings with the Cullens but when it would come to fighting, he'd stay out of it just like he promised me. I was okay with that. As long as he wouldn't get involved with the whole royalty vampires I could stand the idea of him talking to the Cullens.

Unfortunately that meant Jacob wasn't there the next day at school because of one of those pack meetings with the Cullens. Nobody of the pack was here which made me feel strangely vulnerable, especially without Jacob by my side. I decided I didn't like this and Jackie clearly felt the same. She was moping around all day and according to Andy so was I.

"Want to do the project together?" Andy suddenly asked me.

"Huh? What?"

I had been zoning out in class. Thank god Andy sat next to me to tell me exactly what was going on but he isn't too good at paying attention in class either.

"The English assignment, want to do it together? You either take me or Keith Hakley as your partner." He asked me while throwing the weirdo of the school a glance.

"Yeah sure."

"Sure you'll do the project with me or sure you prefer the wacko?"

"Huh? What?" I asked him confused.

"Never mind, you're obviously not paying attention so though luck, you're stuck with me. You can come over tonight so we'll just get it over with."

I agreed to it when we made our way over to the door so we could finally get out of that awful smelly class room. Unfortunately I got called back.

"Miss Thompson. Would you mind staying for a moment?"

I didn't know what Mrs. Benton could want from me. I wasn't the best student in the school but I wasn't awful either. I'm sure I didn't need a wake-up call or something.

"I took the liberty to look at your grades."

Okay... Did I need the wake-up call? I knew I hadn't been really focused lately with dating Jacob and everything that came with that but was I failing?

"You're doing good in general but I see you're having some trouble with Chemistry. I'd hate for you to fail one class, especially since you're doing well in the others. I have set up a tutoring group with some other students and I'd really like for you to join." She smiled but that just ticked me off.

"Sure?"

It didn't exactly sound like I had a choice but maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to spend more time on school from now on.

"Great, we're having the first meeting this Thursday after class. I'll see you then."

I still had to sign some kind of paper with my name and when I handed it back to her, she did something most people don't do around this school anymore. She looked at my scarred arm in a way that made it clear she found them just as ugly as I do. Never mind thanking her for getting me a tutor, she's scoring pretty low in my ranking now.

I was kind of pissed off when I finally left the class room because of that. Andy had been so nice to wait for me but now that just meant he'd probably get my rage over him.

"What did she want?" he asked me when we walked to the cafeteria.

"To get another good stare at my arm, I'm sure." I grumbled.

"What?"

"Never mind. She's getting me a tutor for chemistry." I told him when we sat down at the table Jackie was already sitting on. She didn't have Embry to sit with this time.

"You need a tutor?" She asked me.

"Apparently." I sighed.

"What's so bad about needing a tutor? I've had one for English, History and Biology." Andy shrugged.

"You're right, that's not so bad." I admitted.

"Then why are you suddenly in such a bad mood?" He asked me.

Because I thought people had finally gotten over the fact that I have three red lines running over my right arm and hand but apparently that's something they just won't get used to. Kind of like myself.

"Because she stared."

"At what?" Andy asked me but that was soon followed by an 'ouch, what was that for' after Jackie hit his shoulder.

"What? The arm? People do that all the time."

"Great, thanks for making me feel so much better about it." I grumbled before starting to stab my meal.

"What Andy is trying to say is that people are already used to them by now. They don't really stare that much anymore." Jackie tried to smile.

I still wasn't used to them by now and I'm sure Emily isn't used to hers either.

"I don't get why you're so upset about them anyway." Andy shrugged before stuffing his face with his lunch.

Jackie pretty much gaped at him in astonishment and I would have done the same thing, had I not just stuffed my mouth as well.

"What? I would kill to have scars like that." He told me pointing at my arm.

I knew the guy wasn't completely normal but he just reached a new level. Why would anyone want to have something like that on their arm?

"They're total bad-ass, Erin. They are your battle scars from when you fought off the big bad bear. You should be proud of them. Tells everyone you shouldn't be messed with."

I couldn't help but laugh about it. It wasn't exactly a fight since Paul pretty much just jumped and clawed at me. But it was kind of nice of Andy trying to cheer me up in his own goofy, oblivious way.

"Thanks, I hadn't looked at it that way before."

"Well, you should. They are sexy." He grinned while pointing at my arm.

I knew he didn't mean for that to sound like he found me sexy but Jacob who suddenly popped up out of nowhere definitely didn't see it that way.

"Did you just call my girlfriend sexy?" He growled.

"What? No! I was just saying that the scars are... never mind." He said before getting up.

Jacob still looked rather pissed off when he sat down next to me but I've got a feeling Andy wasn't the main cause.

"What's wrong?" I asked him while I was trying not to look at Embry and Jackie sucking face again.

"The Cullens want to ask other vampires for help. Vampires who do feed of humans but we won't be allowed to kill since they're siding with Renesmee." He grumbled.

"You're okay with that?" I asked in shock.

"Of course not but Renesmee is Collin's imprint and we can't argue with the fact that we'll have a better shot at winning this with more leeches on our side." He groaned.

I immediately had this image in my head of an army of hungry vampires roaming the streets of La Push, draining every human they could find. How could the pack allow this?

"They'll kill everyone!"

"They're not allowed to hunt this area." He sighed.

They would still be killing people somewhere else. I decided not to say this out loud since Jacob seemed to be already upset about this deal they had made. I held his hand under the table and smiled up at him.

"It will be okay." I told him but even I didn't believe it. Why would the Cullens need so many vampires if things would turn out okay?

That evening I wished I could have been with Jacob but I was working with Andy on the stupid assignment and he wasn't taking the whole thing seriously, which meant it would be a long time before I was allowed to go home.

"Can you please just focus, Andy?" I sighed.

"Why are you in such a hurry to get out of here? Don't you like spending time with me?" He pouted but I had gotten completely immune against that now that Jacob is way better at it than him.

"I just want to go home." I whined but what Andy doesn't know is that I really meant I wanted to see Jacob and hoped he would be in my bedroom.

"You know what? You should go home. This assignment isn't going to get any better and I was hoping to spend some time with my lady." He grinned.

I didn't comment on his lame behaviour because I really wanted to get out of here so I quickly grabbed my things and said goodbye. Only outside did I realise I didn't have a car and I'm sure Andy wouldn't want to drive me home since his 'lady' is coming over. Well, it really wasn't a long walk so what was the harm in walking to my house? Normally I would have said nothing but a vampire had just crossed the border and Jacob told me this morning that more vampires were coming this way. Excuse me for not wanting to walk home in the dark.

Andy indeed didn't want to drive me home but at least he let me wait inside for my brother to come pick me up since Jacob wouldn't answer his phone and my dad had already gone to bed. I hadn't even realised it was already passed ten.

My brother eventually showed up and seemed really pissed he had to pick me up but I was already glad he came at all. He said the only reason he came was because he had to drop off something at Nathan's place anyway. Nathan Longfree was to Bryan what Jackie had always been to me. He was his best friend and there was nothing they didn't do together. Kind of the way me and Jackie were before relationships made everything more complicated.

Nathan was a good kid, he was a lot nicer to me than my own brother was. He lived pretty close to Andy's place and thank God for that because else I would have been walking home. Bryan pulled up in the Longfree's driveway and left me sitting in the car. I watched him walk up to the front door and saw a big guy opening the door. I didn't know Nathan's older brother, Alex was back from college. He had never been so buff before. That's when I realised I wasn't looking at Alex Longfree, I was looking at Nathan. The boy is fourteen years old, how come he looks like that? Somebody must have discovered the invention of the gym.

Bryan talked to Nathan for a while but by the looks of it, they weren't having a pleasant conversation and when he got back in the car, he looked even more pissed than before and I had made him drive all the way here for me.

"Everything okay?" I asked carefully, I didn't want him to start yelling at me and he looked pretty close to it.

"It's none of your business." He grumbled.

"So... Nathan grew."

Poorly, I know but I didn't want to sit in awkward silence any longer and that was the first thing I came up with.

"And had a personality change." He mumbled under his breath.

"What do you mean?"

He looked at me as if he really didn't want to talk about it with me but since we still had a few minutes to kill, he gave in anyway.

"He's been acting weird lately. He never wants to hang out with anyone anymore and gets angry for every little thing." He sighed.

Nathan gets angry? The guy has a patience no one's could ever compare to. I don't like a lot of my brother's friends but Nathan Longfree is actually a good kid.

"Why?" I asked Bryan.

"How the hell should I know? Ever since he started working out, he's been acting like a creep even though he insist he doesn't work out." My brother practically fumed.

A guy who never loses his patience suddenly snaps at everything? Suddenly getting all buff without doing some kind of work out? Does that all sound familiar to someone? Because I'm sure I've heard Jacob say something like that before.

_When the gene is triggered, you start growing like cabbage, get a really bad temper and then the fever kicks in. Eventually you get so angry that you feel like you'll explode and you do._

Nathan Longfree was about to phase.


	63. Bryan's upcoming trouble

_I know it's still Sunday (at least here it is) but I'll be gone for a few days so I had to update now or not at all this week and I so did not want to disappoint you. Because you're al such loyal and nice readers :) Thank you all the ones who reviewed: __**Kyrie, LoveBites'LikeSugarMuffin, ForeverTeamEdward13, Luli Cullen, Alaina08, kikikiki, GiaLunaLove, nene82743, MysteriousAndChaotic, Imprinting Magic, bookfreak345, Tinkerbell-Lover-Ms-Write-It, gawjesgrl190, Mebs2010, adids14, lestrangegirlwritings1539, Simply Me, Becca97 and KatelynnLuvsWWE. **_

_Someone asked when I was going to make Jacob alpha and the answer to that is not. I don't want that to happen in my story because I just hated the fact that it tore the pack in two and I don't really want Sam to stop phasing either. Neither will Bryan phase because just like Erin, he's not Quileute. _

_Hope you enjoy this chapter as well and please, let me know what you thought of it. _

**Chapter 63**

I was upset that Jacob wasn't in my room when I got home. I really needed to ask him about Nathan. If he was going to phase, it would be dangerous to have him hanging around my brother. I needed to make sure Bryan wasn't spending all his time with a potential ticking time bomb. I called Jacob but he didn't answer which I guess is another clue to assume he's on patrol right now. I called him a couple of times more but still no response. After the tenth time, someone picked up.

"Hello?"

"Where's Jacob?" I asked because the girl's voice definitely didn't belong to him.

"Hi Erin. Jacob is on patrol right now." The voice I recognised as Emily's told me. "Is something wrong? I've noticed you called a few times."

She was being too polite. I had called him every five minutes for the past hour. If I didn't qualify as stalker girlfriend before, I do now.

"Nothing's wrong." Not yet at least. "Could you just tell Jacob to come to my house when he's done with patrol?"

"Of course but that's not for another two hours."

I sighed. Great, of course he'd be occupied for the next few hours when I desperately needed to talk to him.

"Okay but could you just tell him that?" I sighed.

"Sure." Emily said and I hung up.

Two hours, I had to wait for Jacob for two hours! There is no way I was going to sleep now, not until Jacob tells me there is nothing to worry about. What was I going to do for two hours?

Eating, I was going to eat. I'm pretty sure I emptied the entire fridge. Don't judge me, it's something that would have happened inevitably when Jacob walks into my house. I was eating my last piece of chocolate when suddenly I heard a voice in the hallway.

"Erin?"

Jacob sounded panicking and he came in the hallway which means he didn't care about my dad possibly hearing him. I walked in the hallway and bumped right into his chest.

"What's wrong?" He asked me, still sounding panicky and circling his arms around my waist. "You called me ten times."

"Nothing is wrong with me but I have to talk to you."

The look on his face made me realise those are the words most girls use before breaking up with their boyfriends. He must know I didn't mean it like that.

"It isn't something bad, I just... follow me." I pulled him upstairs to my room because I didn't want my dad or Bryan to find Jacob in our house in the middle of the night.

When I got to my room I pulled him down to sit next to me on the bed. He still seemed really worried that I was acting like this even though I think I wasn't freaking out too much anymore right now.

"Is Nathan Longfree going to phase?" I got straight to the point.

"What? Why would you ask me that?"

He was confused.

"Because you told me you guys starting growing really fast, got huge muscles and suddenly had a bad temper before any of you phased. That's all the things that have been happening to Nathan so I am asking you if he's about to phase."

This would have been the perfect moment for Jacob to tell me I had it completely wrong and there is no way Nathan was going to be a shape-shifter. But he didn't. He just looked like he was thinking about something but whatever it was, he didn't share it with me.

"Jacob!"

"It's possible."

Oh, no.

"After all the Longfrees are related to the Uleys. It is possible they have the gene as well. Now that the Cullens have gained a half-vampire child, it could have triggered it." Jacob said.

"So he'll phase?"

"I can't be sure unless I visit him but for the meanwhile let's assume he will. A shape-shifter about to phase is dangerous to be around, Erin so don't go anywhere near him right now." He said while looking down at my right arm, I knew exactly what he was thinking about.

If or when Nathan phases, he'll have to stay away from the people who don't know about shape-shifters just like Embry and Jacob had been forced to break all ties with Quil. Nathan was Bryan's best friend but as a shape-shifter he wouldn't be able to hang out with my brother anymore. The worst part is the both of them don't even know these are the last days of their friendship.

"He spends all his time with my brother." I whispered.

I feel bad knowing the two of them won't be able to stay friends much longer but I was more afraid than anything else. Jacob didn't want me around Nathan because the boy could lose his temper anytime and then it would be Paul-attack all over again. That's exactly the reason Bryan spending time with Nathan worries me. I don't want that to happen to my brother.

"I'll keep an eye on him." Jacob promised me. "As soon as it seems like he'll lose control, I'll get him out."

"Thank you." I smiled.

Suddenly something popped into my mind, something I had never asked Jacob before but actually seemed like a pretty logical question.

"When did you first phase?"

"You know that, over a year ago."

"No, I mean what was the moment that got you so angry, you phased for the first time?"

He sighed and I figured it wasn't a very nice story.

"It seems like so long ago, I still thought I was in love with Bella." He said and I immediately understood why this belonged in the bad stories category.

"And?" I made it clear I didn't care that she was a part of the story, I still wanted to hear about it.

"I had gone to the movies with Bella and one of her friends who had a thing for her as well. Even though I had been burning up, I still went. The guy kept interrupting mine and Bella's conversation and that just pissed me off so much."

"That's what made you phase?"

He nodded.

"Well, that was a disappointing story." I told him, expecting something more exciting.

"Sorry if it didn't live up to your expectations." He smiled.

"I was expecting a lot more drama than that." I told him.

"There was a lot of drama after I phased." He sighed and I knew that was true.

The next morning I was trying to find a way I could make Bryan stay away from Nathan but I figured if I told him to do that, he'll do the exact opposite like every annoying teenager would. I also thought about stirring up a fight between the two of them but that still doesn't seem like such a great idea. And I really should have more faith that Jacob will keep the promise he made to me last night about keeping an eye on things.

As it turns out, I didn't have to keep Bryan away from Nathan because Nathan's fever had kicked in and he stayed at home. He would phase soon and then at least he'd stay away from my brother. Is it really that awful that I'm hoping he'll phase soon even though I know that being a shape-shifter makes life a lot harder?

When I got to school Jacob wasn't there because he had to run patrol. I didn't run into Andy either because he was apparently sick today as well. Jackie was probably with Embry again. That meant I didn't run into anyone until lunch. Unfortunately it wasn't someone I had been ready to see. I had just closed my locker and was about to make my way over to the cafeteria when someone was making their way over to me. She was pale, blond and a pain in the butt. Zoe Hurley.

I must have stared at her for a long time with big eyes because I was still doing so when she stopped in front of me and smiled shyly. What the hell was Zoe Hurley doing back in La Push?

"Hi." She spoke softly.

The polite thing to do would be greet her back but I was still staring at her as if she was a ghost. When did she get back here? Did her entire family get back because if that's the case, I might move away.

"Are you okay, Erin?" She asked me when I didn't respond and just stared.

"Why are you here?"

If Seth saw me talking to her like that, I'm sure the sweet guy would have changed into an angry and growling werewolf but he wasn't and I honestly didn't care if she was hurt by my tone of voice.

"We moved back."

We? That kind of implies more than one, right? They're all back? Emma Hurley is back in La Push as well?

"Why?"

"We missed this place." She sighed.

"No, you didn't. You guys left because you missed LA." I snapped.

"LA has been our home for a long time but it was mostly just Emma who missed LA. I really missed La Push, it feels more like a home to me than LA ever did." She smiled softly.

"Great! So what do you want from me now?" I snapped.

"I just wanted to say hi and thank you for talking to Seth that time I called you. He called me back the next day and the fact that he and I started talking on the phone is also-"

"I already feel bad enough about your family being back in La Push, I don't need to hear how I'm part to blame for that." I snapped at her and took off.

I knew it, I knew we hadn't heard or seen the last of the Hurleys and now they're back, all of them. The she-devil aka Emma Hurley was back in our lives. Did Jacob know that? No, I don't think he does. I don't know if he would have told me but he must have realised that it would set me off and then he'd be walking on eggshells around me and he hasn't really been doing that. So Jacob didn't know but did Seth? He hasn't said anything about it so maybe he didn't know Zoe was moving back. I'll know soon enough since he's sitting in the cafeteria with the rest of the pack.

"Hi." Jacob smiled at me before pulling me to sit next to me.

I didn't smile back at him so someone was bound to notice my mood.

"What's wrong with you? You look like you've seen the devil." Jackie commented.

"Something very close to that." I grumbled.

"What did you see then?" Jacob asked me concerned.

"Zoe Hurley."

By the look on the pack's faces, I'm guessing they didn't know the Hurleys were moving back, even Seth. Had she not told him during one of their notorious phone calls?

"Z-Zoe? What! Where?" Seth practically screamed at me but even then there was a hint of that goofy blissful smile I only like to see on Jacob's face.

"Just now, in the hallway. She moved back to La Push." I shrugged and before I even properly finished that sentence, Seth was already flying out of the cafeteria, most likely in search of his imprint.

"What did she say to you?" Jackie asked me curiously.

"Not much."

That's true. She didn't have a lot to say but for some reason every word that left her lips, had aggravated me.

"Are you okay?" Jacob asked me softly once the pack had lost their interest in the Hurley case.

I just shrugged because I didn't know. I don't really have any right to be upset that the Hurleys are back since only one of them tried to ruin my life but for some reason I really dislike them all so much.

I hadn't thought about how others would feel about their return until I got home. Seeing my brother sitting in the living room, staring at the TV screen made me realise someone else might have mixed feelings about their return besides me. I don't know what happened between Bryan and Eliza before she left town but it can't have been anything good. He had been in a lousy mood way too long to blame it on Bryan just being Bryan. But what are the odds he'd be willing to tell me what happened now?

"The Hurleys moved back." I told him quietly but he definitely heard me.

"So?" he shrugged without even taking his eyes of the screen.

"I thought maybe it would be weird for you because of what happened with Eliza."

Of course I had no idea what actually happened between them but I could bluff long enough for him to tell me. Then again, I never was good at fooling my own brother. He got up from the couch, gave me a really cold look and went up to his room. So I'm guessing I won't be hearing the story from him.

I didn't have any time to think about the possible scenario's of what could have happened because the doorbell rang. I opened the door since my brother was being anti-social again and my dad was working.

"Jacob!" I smiled enthusiastically when I saw that beautiful man standing at the door.

"Hi Erin. So this is where the normal people enter your house." He grinned.

"Not really, most people come through my bedroom window." I grinned right back at him before pulling him into my house.

I can't put my finger on what it is exactly but whenever Jacob is around me, a bad mood melts away like snow in the sun. It could always be a combination of the smile, the eyes and the body.

"I thought you had patrol today."

"I did but I switched with Leah because she needed the day off tomorrow."

I didn't ask him why Leah wanted that because it wasn't any of my business and honestly, it wasn't all that interesting to me.

"I went by Nathan's house."

"And?"

"You're right. He is going to phase."

I had really hoped it wasn't the case. I don't wish for my brother to lose his best friend. I don't know what I'd do if it was me, even if me and Jackie haven't spend a lot of time together lately.

"Soon?"

"Yeah, the fever already kicked in so now we're just waiting for something to annoy him so much, he'll phase for the first time."

"Poor Nathan." I sighed.

"Yeah but he's not the one I'm concerned about."

"What do you mean?" I asked him confused.

Who else could he be worried about? Was someone else going to phase? It wouldn't be so weird now that there's a vampire convention going on in Forks.

"You."

"Why would you be worried about me?"

I wasn't the one about to phase for the first time. That might be one of the only reasons I'm glad I'm not Quileute. I'm pretty sure I would hate being a shape-shifter and the pack already has one bitter female wolf. That's more than enough.

"Because I know you. For some reason you'll get it in your head you need to talk to Nathan."

"Why would I do that?"

"I don't know. Because he's your brother's best friend, because you've known the boy your entire life, because you feel the need to warn him about what's going to happen to him. Take your pick."

That actually does sound like something I'd do.

"And that would be bad, right?" I asked him, just to make sure.

"Yes!" He shot up which almost made me fall of the couch. "I won't let you get close to a shape-shifter who can't control himself!"

"Okay, calm down. I won't do anything like that. I promise."

I'm just not sure if I'll be able to keep that promise. What if Nathan suddenly shows up on my doorstep? Or what if he's really struggling with being a shape-shifter? Jacob's right, as someone who's known him his whole life I don't think I'd be able to just sit back and watch him suffer.

"Nathan's actually not the only reason I'm worried about you." Jacob eventually grumbled.

"What's the other reason?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Erin." He sighed.

"No, I actually don't. So please just tell me." I got a little annoyed that he was talking in riddles.

"Emma Hurley."

"Oh."

"Oh? That's all you have to say about it?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to get angry."

"Why would I do that? She has the right to live here just as much as you and I do. It's not because I can't stand the girl that she's not allowed to move back to La Push." I shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant.

"So you're okay with her being back?"

"Okay might be a little too optimistic to use in this context but as long as she doesn't talk to me, get in my line of vision or goes anywhere near you, I don't see why this is problematic."

"Not get in your line of vision? Erin, she goes to the same school and there aren't enough students to never run into her."

I knew that, I knew it very well. Honestly, this whole 'it's not a problem' attitude was nothing but a facade. I just don't want to turn into jealous Erin again and if that means I have to pretend nothing is wrong about Emma Hurley being back in La Push, that's what I'll do.

"So now that we've talked about it, we-"

"I am angry." He suddenly interrupted me.

"At what, or who and why?" I asked him confused.

"Things between me and you took a wrong turn once she showed up here and at first I thought it was just because you were jealous and we were both still freaked out because you had just found out I was a shape-shifter and me because I had just told you I change into a giant wolf and imprinted on you. But she is what messed us up and I know we can't blame it all on her but ever since she left, it feels like you and I are back on the same page again. I don't want that to change."

"That's not angry, Jacob, that's scared."

"It's a combination of both."

"It's not going to change anything between you and me because this time I won't let my insecurities come between us and you sure as hell aren't going to befriend her again, are you?"

"Of course not!"

"Then what's the problem?" I shrugged.

"You do realise I know what you're trying to do, don't you?"

He knows I am so not okay with this but that's a good thing. I don't need to pretend I'm okay around Jacob but I also don't want to say out loud how much I hate that girl being back here and how big the chance is I might punch her again once I see that devious face.

"I know. Just hold me back when I want to punch her, okay?"

"Do I have to?" He grinned slightly.

I punched him lightly on the shoulder but smiled anyway. I knew he would hold me back and I had confidence that maybe I wouldn't feel the need to do that this time. She couldn't possibly say anything to make me that upset again since Jacob clearly told her that he doesn't even want to be friends with her before she left. I just wasn't sure if no Hurley could piss me off that much and since Zoe was Seth's imprint, that might become a problem.

_So who expected the Hurleys to move back? :D_


	64. Pack expansion

_It been a crazy week and the next one will be as well. I don't know if I'll have the time to update so I'll just do it now as a replacement for Monday's update. Thank you everyone who reviewed so much: __**kikikiki, ForeverTeamEdward13, LoveBites'LikeSugarMuffin, harrellgirl, GiaLunaLove, Simply Me, stardiamond94, Mimi, Imprinting Magic, Alaina08, ChelseaDagger14, Kristie and bookfreak345. **_

_Hope you enjoy this chapter as well and I'd be really grateful if you all review :D_

**Chapter 64**

Three days have passed since the return of the Hurleys and this is what happened so far: Nathan has been at home the entire time with a very high fever but still hasn't phased which means the entire pack has been taking turns guarding his house in case he might suddenly phase.

Zoe and Seth have become inseparable which means I have to look at her face every lunch time since Seth thinks once again that it would be awesome if Zoe and I would become BFF's or something like that. And when he uses his puppy eyes on me, I find myself strangely enough unable to refuse. So I sit with Zoe at the same table every lunch but that doesn't mean I'm nice to her. Seth's puppy eyes aren't that effective.

Eliza Hurley showed up on our doorstep but Bryan refused to come downstairs and talk to her. Had she not been related to Emma, I might have actually felt bad about how rude he was being to her. But then again I also didn't know what had happened between those two so maybe she had actually deserved that treatment. Whether she did or not, it is still my duty as a sister to pick my brother's side which is what I did even though he didn't seem to be grateful about it or anything.

Today was Thursday which meant I had my first tutoring club or whatever. Luckily I had come to school with my car this time so Jacob wouldn't have to wait after class. Normally he would have insisted to stay and drive me home, but there was once again a pack meeting. I made my way over to the classroom and finally got to see who was in my little study group. If I had known that before, I never would have agreed to this thing in the first place. There was Tara Greenwell, the biggest bitch in this school although I guess she's second place now that Emma Hurley is back. Keith Hakley, the biggest weirdo in this school was sitting here as well. Jamie Walton was a nice girl but I still haven't forgotten that she has the hots for Jacob as well. Bill Kholden is one of the only other white people in this school and strangely enough I haven't really spoken to him in all the years we go to school here. We are in the same year but don't have any classes together. And last but not least there was Thomas Zollanger, kind of the jock and jerk of this school now that the others have phased. He used to be friends with Jared and Paul but apparently wasn't all that upset when they stopped talking to him. Mrs. Benton entered the classroom and looked around before she opened her mouth.

"Well, I guess I was just being too hopeful to think Paul Lahote would want the very much needed extra credit and show up." She sighed annoyed before scribbling something down.

Paul had to be here as well? He couldn't since there was a pack meeting going on right now but I don't think Mrs. Benton would accept that as an excuse. I could of course not say anything but Paul was trying to save the reservation and Collin's imprint in the process, I might want to do something in return.

"Mrs Benton? Paul's sick today." I told her.

"Really? Does he have a doctor's note?"

Oh shit.

"Yes, he does."

What the hell was I saying? He's not sick so I'd be really surprised if he had a doctor's note.

"Oh, okay then. Will you give him these papers then and ask him to drop by his note tomorrow?"

I nodded. I don't know why I just did that but no matter what the intention was, I don't think I actually helped him.

For the rest of the hour she explained to us that we would be meeting every Thursday after school and Jamie was the one who would be tutoring us since she apparently has the best grades for Chemistry.

When I finally left the school, I found myself with a bit of a problem. I had Paul's assignment in my bag and was supposed to give it to him. I do know where he lives but I'm not quite sure I actually want to go there. Since I butted in with the 'he's sick' comment, I kind of was too involved to not see this through. That is the reason I knocked on Paul Lahote's front door a few minutes later.

"Erin?" He seemed confused that I was the one who was standing here, just as I would have been if the situation was reversed.

"Hi. You're probably wondering why I'm here." I spoke nervously.

I think I have enough reasons to be nervous around this guy since somehow he always makes me say the wrong things around him and that usually results in our feelings or my arm getting hurt.

"Yeah."

"This is for you." I told him while pulling out his papers. "Apparently you and I are in the same tutoring group or whatever you want to call it. I told Mrs. Benton that you were sick today so you could still get those extra credits."

"You shouldn't have done that." He told me coldly.

"I wanted to help out since I can't run patrols, fight vampires or do any of the stuff you guys do. All you have to do now is make the assignment and show her a doctor's note since I told her you were sick but that might not be so hard. You could just ask Dr Cullen since he already owes-"

"You really shouldn't have done that." He repeated again, looking a little angry now.

"Why not?"

I hadn't really expected him to fall at my feet out of gratitude, neither had I expected a 'thank you' but I hadn't thought he'd get angry at me for trying to help him out.

"I'm not doing the whole tutoring thing. I'm not going to make the assignment and even if I don't have patrol next time, I'm not going to those meetings."

"Why not? I thought you needed the extra credit for your grades?" I asked him confused.

"Why should I care about my grades? No matter what they are at the end of the year, I'll stay in la Push and run patrols. Grades won't change that."

And then he shut the door. I stood there shocked for a few seconds and then got back to my car. He didn't care about his grades? I know not a lot of them do but they should at least try to graduate. I'm staying in La Push as well next year but that doesn't mean I don't want to pass all my classes.

I know Paul just told me I shouldn't have tried to help him but somehow I felt like I should. So I scanned my doctor's note from my arm and altered it a little on my computer so that it said that Paul Lahote had missed class today because he was suffering from a painful STD. I didn't have to be completely nice to the boy and that sounded like something Mrs Berton would actually believe because I am shocked he still hasn't gotten one and it's awkward enough that she won't ask him about it during any other classes.

I had to make the assignment anyway so I just had to do it double. Unfortunately Mrs Benton would realise that I gave her the same exercises back twice so I needed someone to fake a boy's handwriting. And who would be better for that than an actual boy?

"Can you once again explain to me why I am doing this?"Andy asked me when I forced him to copy my assignment in his handwriting and put Paul's name on top of it.

"I didn't explain it. Just do it, please."

"I don't see why I have to do this and it's not even to help you. It's for Paul Lahote." He scoffed.

"I know but I would be eternally grateful for it."

"And you made me come sooner to school for this!" He whined. "Please don't tell me you're crushing on that guy. I'm all for you dating someone other than Jacob since you guys have been attached to the hip lately but I'd rather have you dating Black than Lahote. That guy is the worst of the bunch."

"I'm not breaking up with Jacob and I most definitely am not attracted to Paul."

"Then why are you making his assignment?" He cocked an eyebrow.

"Don't ask."

I don't really know why I am going through so much trouble for someone who doesn't only not appreciate it, but also is constantly rude to me and the reason people like staring at my arm. But I did it anyway and since Andy is such a great friend he helped me out.

At the end of fourth period, I made my way over to Mrs. Benton's class to hand over mine and Paul's assignment. Luckily the students had already left for lunch and I would just have to lie to Mrs. Benton. Come on, Erin. You can keep the pack's secret so how hard could it be to lie to a teacher?

"Miss Thompson, I assume you are here to hand in your assignment. It is due today." She told me as if she thought it was highly unlikely that I had made it.

"Yes, I am." I said while pulling both assignments out of my bag. "And I'm also here to give you Paul's."

I was praying that she wouldn't know my obviously fake smile was...well, fake. But she doesn't really know me so I think she might be buying it. If I had tried to pull this off in front of Jackie or Jacob, they would have seen right through me.

"Why do you have Mr. Lahote's assignment?" She cocked an eyebrow.

"He gave it to me since he didn't feel well enough to come to class today and he didn't want to miss the deadline. He also gave me his doctor's note, see?" I lied through my teeth.

She checked to see if it was really Paul's name on the sheet and if there was actually a doctor's signature on the note. She seemed to believe my story but then she spoke to me again.

"Mr. Lahote didn't feel well enough to come to school today?"

"No, he didn't." I responded quickly, hoping to get out of the room as fast as I could.

"Then how come he was in my English class this morning?"

Oh fuck! Why hadn't I checked if he was in school today before telling her that lie. Think fast, Erin or she'll realise you're lying!

"Oh...well, you see... He gave me his assignment yesterday after he finished it and last night he wasn't sure if he'd be feeling well enough to come to school yet. I had just assumed he wouldn't because he looked really bad last night."

"Really? I had no idea you and Mr Lahote were so close."

We so aren't.

"We have mutual interests." I told her.

'Like what?' I thought to myself. He likes sleeping around and killing vampires in his free time. I don't really see how he and I could possibly have something in common with each other beside the fact that we were both a part of the pack.

"Okay, Miss Thompson. Mr Lahote is very lucky to have a friend like you." She told me before she started sorting through some files again.

She bought it? I thought it was pretty obvious I was lying but she didn't call me out on it so maybe I was better at it than I thought. So I had averted this problem but there was still another one. Next Thursday we would have another meeting with the study group. How was I going to convince Paul to go this time?

I had hoped the answer would come to me during lunch but it was something else that brought a kind of creepy smile to my face. I had been sitting at the table with the rest of the pack and unfortunately Zoe Hurley when somehow the subject had gotten to Forks High School.

"I heard they have hot tubs and shiny new lockers at Forks while we have the crappy ones who fall apart every two days." Brady complained.

"They do not have hot tubs." Zoe responded.

I had always pictured her as kind of shy as well but she was surprisingly very talk active during every lunch, a fact that I'm not very thrilled about.

"How would you know?" Brady asked her.

"Because Emma transferred there and she didn't mention anything about hot tubs."

"Wait, what? What did you just say?" I interrupted their conversation.

"Emma transferred to Forks High." Zoe shrugged as if I was supposed to know that.

"Why didn't you tell me that?"

"I've tried but you always avoid a conversation with me." She said softly.

Seth was trying to glare at me but that expression just looks too weird on his face and I was too excited about the fact that Emma Hurley was no longer in the same school as me to get affected by that.

"You okay?" Jared asked me after I kept staring into space with a blissful smile on my face not even Jacob can get me to wear easily.

"Never been better." I smiled brightly and all the other looked at me as if I had just lost my mind but I didn't care.

If Emma Hurley didn't hang around my boyfriend anymore and didn't go to the same school as me anymore, there really weren't a lot of places where I could run into her. Her coming back to La Push suddenly seemed a lot less horrible now that I knew that.

For the rest of the day I was in a terrifyingly good mood and I thought nothing could change that. Wrong again. In the middle of the last period I got a text from Emily saying there was a pack meeting at her place right now and I should get there as soon as possible. It might just be meant as an opportunity for Emily to fatten me up with her cookies again but I've got a feeling it's something more serious than that.

I came in through the back door because that's what Emily had told me to do in her text. All the imprints were there which strangely enough meant Zoe as well. It's kind of a stupid idea to have her here during a pack meeting. She doesn't even know about shape-shifters yet, she doesn't even know Seth's in love with her. I sat down next to Kim who was following Zoe and Jackie's conversation about the work out facilities in La Push while Emily was cooking something.

"Why is she here?" I whispered softly to Kim.

"She and Seth had their first date tonight when this came up. He refused to let her go home."

Stupid Seth. She should not find out about the legends being true by accident. That is way more traumatising, believe me.

"What is the pack meeting about anyway?" I still whispered.

"I don't know."

"Are they going to tell us?"

"Probably, they've been in there for over an hour. It won't take much longer I think."

Kim was right. Ten minutes after I had arrived, the door to the living room opened and Seth came through. He took Zoe by the hand and they went off on their date. Sam was next but before I could ask him what the meeting had been about, I felt two strong arms wrap themselves around me and pulling me into a chest. I allowed Jacob to hug me for a moment before pulling away and asking him the question that had been meant for Sam.

"A lot of vampires have arrived to help the Cullen and even though that improves our odds, they will cause the inevitable to happen. More vampires in the area means more shape-shifters to protect the people from them."

"More people are going to phase?" I asked him.

"Nathan phased this afternoon. Paul and Quil are with him."

It's not like I didn't know this was going to happen but this just made it all so final.

"The fever has kicked in with Scott Huautah and Thomas Door. They'll phase soon as well and we expect it to happen to more people in the tribe." Jacob sighed.

So the pack would get bigger. I guess we could have all anticipated that since vampires are coming to Forks from all over the world. This is once again proving that the Cullens do not care what consequences their actions have for other people.

"Is Nathan okay?" I asked him.

"Freaking out but that's normal. Once he cools down, he'll be able to phase back. You can't be here when that happens."

"Why not?"

"You promised you wouldn't be around him and it's very dangerous to be in the same place as him when he just phased a few hours ago!"

I did promise that.

"Okay." I sighed.

I said goodbye to Jacob and everyone else. Jackie asked me if I could give her a ride back to the school since she had left her car there when she joined Embry to go to the pack meeting. I had been later because I had an extra hour.

While me and Jackie were sitting in the car, we talked about what we thought of the new and the almost new additions to the pack. It would get kind of awkward since Jackie used to date Thomas Door and even though that was like ages ago, I'm sure it will cause some tension between him and Embry. Scott was a lot younger than the rest of the pack. He's in the same year as Nathan and Bryan but as far as I know they're not really friends.

"If things keep up like this, the entire rez will be filled with shape-shifters." I sighed.

"Yeah, I wonder wh-" Jackie started but suddenly stopped.

When I looked over at her seat next to me, I saw her staring in front of her with her eyes wide open as if she had just realised something. Maybe she did.

"Jackie?"

"He wasn't in school today." She said.

"Who wasn't in school? Who are you talking about?"

"Andy! His sister said he was sick and he hasn't been in school the entire week." She panicked.

"You think he might be close to phasing as well?" I almost shouted at her.

"It's not very likely he just happens to be sick now that there are so many vampires in Forks."

If Andy phased, we wouldn't have to keep him in the dark anymore but I also didn't want him to become a shape-shifter. I'd rather have to lie to him for the rest of my life than let that happen to him.

"What are you waiting for? Turn around!" Jackie ordered.

"What?"

"Go to Andy's place. If he is close to phasing he'll be burning up and have muscles like the rest of the pack. We have to check."

I made Jacob a promise. I wouldn't go near Nathan because it would be dangerous to be close to someone who'd phase soon. I'm sure that promise also applies to Andy if he was going to phase soon as well. But this was Andy, my friend. I didn't need a lot of time to turn around and drive to Andy's house.


	65. Got a secret, can you keep it?

_Another chapter! Woohoo! I have to admit I'm having a little trouble writing the next chapters because I'm trying to start heading towards the end of this story but there are still so many things I want to happen. But I'm sure it will all work out :) Firstly I want to thank all the amazing people who once again reviewed my story. Thank you __**Destined2RunWithTheWolves, kikikki, Emerson Sage, Mebs 2010, Imprinting Magic, GiaLunaLove, angel057, bookfreak345, cutieB2010, Alenerien, MysteriousAndChaotic, Alaina08, ForeverTeamEdward13, DaughterOfHephaestus97, Becca97, cassiedakky and lestrangegirlwritings1539. **_

_Secondly: 900 reviews! Awesome! I never thought so many people would like my story so I'm insanely excited right now. Thanks to all the people who ever reviewed for my story. I loved them all. Now let's hope we'll get to 1000 reviews (how amazing would that be? :D) so fingers crossed..._

_I'm glad a lot of you like Zoe's character, which is kind of what I wanted. Erin might not like Zoe but I do. I made her this sweet girl who never means anyone harm, unfortunately that clashes a little with Erin's strong personality. The fact that Erin is being so rude to her for no real reason is just my way of showing to you that Erin isn't always right (which by the way she is a lot ;)_

_Now someone asked me if Leah is going to imprint on someone and I thought it was a good question. Unfortunately I don't really have an answer for that. I think already so many people in the pack have imprinted so I thinking no one else will. But sometimes I suddenly feel like giving my story a twist I hadn't been thinking of. I also didn't have the idea of Collin imprinting in my head until five minutes before I actually typed it down. I know this isn't a real answer to the question but I want you all the think about stuff like that :)_

**Chapter 65**

When me and Jackie arrived at Andy's place, there was no car in front if it so we figured no one was home. We rang the bell three times anyway before someone finally opened it.

"What are you guys doing here?" Andy asked us.

The Andy in front of us was not what I was expecting. There were no huge muscles or an additional two feet to his height. There was a higher temperature than normally but that's probably linked to all the coughing and sneezing he was doing right now. He really was sick.

"You're sick!" Jackie exclaimed joyfully.

"Uh, yeah. That's what I told you before."

"I know but we thought-"

"What Jackie is saying is that we thought you just used that as an excuse to miss school." I quickly interfered before she spilled the pack's secret.

"Well, I didn't. Not that your concern for my health isn't heart warming but I'm sick and tired so I want to go back to bed." He sighed.

"Okay, I guess we'll see you in school next week." We said goodbye to Andy.

When we got into the car and I really drove Jackie back to the school, I was so relieved that Andy wasn't going to phase. I've never been so happy about someone being sick.

"I was thinking we could have a girls' night to get our minds of the fact that our boyfriends will fight ancient vampires in the near future." Jackie said.

"That sounds great." I responded sarcastically. "I'll pass but you will have so much fun."

"I meant you as well. We could invite the other imprints. It will be fun!" She spoke excitedly.

Fun? A night stuck inside a house with the only means of entertaining being gossip and swoon over some crappy romantic movie? That does not sound like fun to me. She would probably want to invite Zoe as well. Now it's starting to sound like a terrible night to me.

"No." I sighed because I knew I couldn't really say no to her. If she wanted this girls' night to happen, it would.

"Doesn't matter whether you say yes or no, we're having a girls' night!" She smiled.

I dropped her off, waited for her to get into her car and then drove back to my house. Jacob didn't come to my room. He had texted me saying Sam needed him to explain things to Nathan and watch out for the others who were going to phase. My mood immediately dropped but I did understand he had more important things going on right now than sleeping next to me.

The next week I saw very little of Jacob. He told me they all had to keep an eye on the guys they thought might phase and on the vampires who had come to Forks. Apparently the Cullens had gathered quite a lot of people willing to stand by their side. None of the vampires had tried to cross the border yet but I felt less safe knowing there were so many dangerous vampires nearby. I made sure my father and brother did not leave La Push or Forks. Outside of those two towns, they might fall victim to the vampires.

It was another Thursday and against my better judgement I had been hoping that Paul would have had the sense to show up at the tutoring. He didn't. Mrs. Benton clearly hadn't expected something else but I had hoped all my efforts of last week hadn't been for nothing.

"Hi."

I was surprised to find Bill Kholden sitting next to me, talking to me.

"Hey?"

He was staring at me in a kind of creepy way. Why was he looking at me like that?

"Do you realise that in all the years we go to this school, you and I have never actually spoken to each other. That's weird, right? Especially since you and I have so much in common." He smiled.

The only thing we have in common is the colour of our skin. I don't think that is a great foundation for a friendship and right now I'm starting to see why I never took the effort to get to know him. He's kind of creeping me out.

"Yeah, weird..." I said before turning my back toward him and luckily he didn't try to start a conversation again.

When the hour was finally over I was going to talk to Mrs Benton. I wasn't going to let my efforts of last week to help Paul go to waste. I could try and talk my way out of it again, I hope.

"Mrs Benton. Paul wasn't here today because his rash got a little worse and is really painful." I told her softly.

My plan worked. She got this really uncomfortable expression on her face and quickly told me that it was okay if he missed this lesson as well. He just had to do the assignment again which I would have to give to him. I guess I'll have to beg for Andy's help again.

When I got home, someone unexpected was waiting outside of my house.

"Nathan? What are you doing here?" I asked him when I got out of the car.

It is not a good idea for him to be here. I know he might want to talk to Bryan but he can't risk that. Unfortunately that means Nathan has to break all ties with his best friend.

"I want to talk to you."

"To me?"

"Yeah, I have some questions about the whole phasing thing and I know you know about it and there are just some questions I don't want to ask Sam or any of the other guys."

"Okay."

What was I supposed to do? I couldn't really sent him away. He looked upset and slightly scared which I guess is normal when you suddenly turned into a giant wolf a few days ago. But I was very much aware of the fact that this counted as breaking my promise to Jacob, again. I decided to not completely let him down and told Nathan we'd have to talk outside. At least that way he could quickly run into the forest if he lost control.

"So what did you want to ask me?"

"Why didn't you warn me? Sam said you were the one who realised I was going to phase and you didn't tell me!"

He didn't sound angry, he sounded upset and it made me feel really bad about the whole thing.

"I wasn't allowed to. And the pack never tells anyone. Would you have believed it if someone told you that you would soon phase into a giant wolf?"

"No." He sighed. "Is it true that I won't be able to stay friends with the people I hang out with now?"

"Yes. I'm sorry."

"Not even Bryan?"

"You could hurt him. I don't want that to happen and I'm sure you don't either."

"He's going to hate me. Especially after everything that has happened lately." He groaned.

"What do you mean with 'everything that has happened lately'?"

He looked at me as if he just got caught in the act of stealing or something. Why was he giving me that look?

"What do you mean?"

"I promised Bryan I wouldn't tell anyone but I guess with the whole phasing thing Jacob will see it in my mind and you'll know anyway."

"What are you talking about? Does it have something to do with Eliza Hurley?"

"Yes, partially."

Why can't he just cut to the chase and tell me what the hell he is talking about?

"He really liked Eliza, more than any other girl so he was very upset when she broke up with him before she moved back to LA. But not just because he lost his girlfriend. She was helping him with something and she abandoned all that when she left. I think he was more upset with that than the fact that she broke up with him."

"What was she helping him with?"

"You're not going to like this. He specifically told us not to tell you or your dad."

"Why?"

I'm starting to think Bryan had been developing an atomic bomb in our cellar by the way Nathan keeps beating around the bush.

"He was trying to find your mother."

I just stared at him my mouth open and my eyes wide. Why would he do that? Why would he even want to do that?

"Eliza's mother is dead so she wanted to help Bryan to get in contact with his mother again but the problem is that no one knows where she is."

"Is she the reason Bryan got the idea in his head?" I asked him angrily.

That bitch Eliza somehow must have convinced my brother to look for the nominee of worst mother of the year. He never would have done that on his own.

"He had been thinking about it for a while now but he didn't know how. Eliza's uncle is in the police so she got him to help."

"Why would he want that?"

"He misses her and he knows you don't. You just would have stopped him and he didn't want that."

"How can he miss her? He barely remembers her! He was 6 years old when she left!"

"Just because he was six, doesn't mean he can't miss her."

I huffed. How could Bryan do that? And not tell us about it? I just feel so angry right now. And the guy in front of me is the shape-shifter with anger issues.

"You can't tell him you know." Nathan said.

"What?"

"I promised him I wouldn't tell you. He'll already be so angry at me for ignoring him for the rest of our lives. Please, don't make it worse." He begged me.

I couldn't. I wanted to confront Bryan with this, I wanted to yell at him, maybe smash something breakable against the wall.

"Please?"

"I'll think about it." I told him reluctantly but I really had no intention of keeping this to myself. If I couldn't argue about this with Bryan, I'd at least inform my father.

Nathan soon left. I told him I didn't feel like talking anymore and he said we could talk later. I needed some time to think. And I needed some time to figure out how far Bryan had gotten with tracking down Stacy Thompson.

I rushed upstairs to Bryan's room without knocking, I knew he wasn't home anyway. I was counting on him not being here for the next hours. His room is a mess but I knew where he would keep the important stuff. He has a drawer under his bed. So I quickly knelt down and pulled it open. I threw all the papers I didn't need out of the way and found a small file at the bottom. I sat down on his bed and opened it. The first page was a copy of the birth certificate of my mother.

Full name of the child: Stacy Anna Kellan

Huh, I never knew her middle name.

Sex: Female

Date of birth: March 7 1971

Full name of mother: Anna Hope Broden

Full name of father: Jackson William Kellan

I never met my grandparents on my mother's side. They died in a car crash when my mother was 22 years old and I wasn't even born yet. My father's mother died from cancer when I was five years old and his father died six years ago. He used to live in a home in Port Angeles for as long as I've known so he could be close to his remaining family. Singapore, where my father's sister lives, was a bit too far away.

This wasn't all that interesting so I quickly turned the page. It was the contract of a house. The address was 259 Northwest 18th avenue, Portland, Oregon. The house was sold five years ago by a man named Steve Warlon to another man named Mason Cobbs. I didn't understand what this had to do with Bryan's search for our mother. Neither man had anything to do with her. At least that's what I thought until I turned the next page. It was the proof of matrimony between Mason Cobbs and Stacy Kellan.

She got married? She remarried? First of all who would want to marry her? And secondly, didn't she leave us because she didn't want the whole married with kids life?

I sat there for half an hour staring out in front of me, afraid of what else I would find on the last pages. But eventually I took a peak at them. There wasn't anything world shocking in it anymore. Just her resume, the addresses she lived at in the nine years she has been away and the divorce papers of her marriage with my father. The strange thing is that she had left nine years ago but the divorce only happened six years ago. My dad an her had still been married for three years after she left?

If I thought I'd had the worst by now, I should not have looked at the last page. It was another birth certificate.

Full name of the child: Angela Cobbs

Sex: female

Date of birth: April 19 2009

Full name of mother: Stacy Anna Kellan

_The chapter is a little shorter than most of the others but you can't say nothing happened in it. What did you all think of it?_


	66. My safe haven

_Thank you __**Mebs2010, Imprinting Magic, harrellgirl, kikikiki, Alaina08, Destined2RunWithTheWolves, ForeverTeamEdward, nene82743, SundaySolis, bookfreak345, reina, moguyett, GymnastQueen, GiaLunaLove, Becca97, Alenerien, adids14, MysteriousAndChaotic, Pretty Monster Princess and Dimitratwilight. **__The reviews always inspire me to keep on writing. I'm pretty proud of this chapter so it would mean a lot if you told me what you think of it._

**Chapter 66**

I have a sister? I have a sister. I have a sister! That is all that went through my mind during the hour I sat on Bryan's bedroom floor, staring at the opposite wall. I have a half-sister.

And Bryan knew. How long had he known about any of this? Had he been hiding this from me the past days, weeks, months? And he wasn't even going to tell me. If it wasn't for Nathan coming over today, I might have never known.

"Erin?"

I had not heard my brother coming up the stairs. He took one look at the papers I was holding and all the colour left his face. He should feel bad about this.

"What are you doing in my room?" He sounded angry but also a little afraid of how I was going to respond to the information I had in my lap right now.

"Seeing if what Nathan told me was true." I answered coldly.

"Nathan told you? When did you see him? He hasn't been in school for over a week."

"Really? You want to talk about him? Why don't you explain me what the hell you were thinking!" I shouted while throwing the papers in his face.

"I don't have to explain anything to you."

He turned around and went downstairs. I was so angry. I felt like I could kill my own brother right now. He knew he had been wrong about this whole thing and now he was playing it off as if I didn't have any right to be upset. I ran after him and stopped him before he was able to close the front door behind him.

"Why didn't you tell me anything about this?" I pulled him back.

"Because it's none of your business. I don't have to run everything I do past you. Besides you would have just tried to talk me out of it." He snapped.

"For a good reason! Why would you try and find her? She left us!"

"No, she left you! And she left dad! She never would have left me behind."

Was he stupid? He had all the proof he needed to realise she moved on and forgot about both of us the moment she left La Push. She got married and had another child. What else did he need to convince him that she didn't care?

"She's gone and she never once tried to get back in touch with us. She's married, she has a kid. We've been replaced."

"No, she had a daughter. That means you've been replaced. Maybe this time I'll get a good sister." He verbally slapped me in the face and left the house.

Bryan's words hurt. They've hurt before but this was different. Finding out that she had a daughter was already making me feel even more unwanted by her than I have before. Hearing my own brother confirm that makes it worse.

My eyesight got blurry with the tears forming in my eyes but I wouldn't let them fall. My mother had already gotten enough tears from me. Like hell I'm going to cry over her another time. I did however still feel terrible. I was convinced crying about it wouldn't make me feel any better and neither would cleaning up the house or eating. I knew exactly what I needed to feel better.

Bryan had jacked our car so I had to walk the entire time. In a certain way it gave me some time to think about everything that had just happened in the past hours.

1. Bryan had been doing some research with his ex-girlfriend to track down our mother.

2. He found out that she's living in Portland which is ridiculously close to not have heard from her in nine years.

3. Stacy Anna Kellan got married to a certain Mason Cobbs.

4. They have a child together.

5. I have a stepfather and a half-sister who probably aren't even aware of my existence.

...

Come to think of it, I really shouldn't be given any time to think about it all because it's just making me angry all over again. I had been walking for fifteen minutes when the house I had been walking to came in to view. Now I just hope that Jacob's home.

"Hi Erin." Billy opened the door.

His smile faltered for the first time since I've met him and I wondered why.

"Is Jacob home?"

"He's in his room. He's asleep but you can walk right in." He told me and opened the door a little more so that I could enter the house.

I didn't waste any time going to Jacob's room at the end of the hall. I hope Billy doesn't think I am being rude right now but it had been Jacob I wanted right now, not a conversation with Billy. I quietly walked into the room. I don't know how a shape-shifter reacts when they're abruptly woken up.

Jacob really is a big guy. His body takes up the entire bed and I wonder how we are even able to sleep in that bed together. I closed his door and took a moment to look at him. He was snoring slightly but it wasn't annoying. He looked completely at peace, that's something he hasn't looked like in a long time due to all the stuff that has been happening.

I didn't mean to wake him but I really felt the need to feel him close to me so I quickly took off my shoes and slipped into the bed with him. I buried my face in the crook of his neck and the scent there was all Jacob. I already felt better.

I had wanted to talk to him as well but he just looks so cute asleep that I couldn't bring myself to wake him up. Instead I slept right next to him after texting my dad, I wouldn't be home tonight. I didn't wait for his response to lie down again and fall asleep in Jacob's arms.

"Erin?" A groggy voice woke me up.

I tried to just ignore the noise but that's really hard when that person keeps whispering in your ear.

"What?" I groaned.

I did not appreciate the sudden wakening and still refused to open my eyes or let go of the warm chest I was lying on right now.

"Waking up and finding you lying next to me is great but why are your eyes swollen?" His concerned voice reached my ears.

What? Swollen eyes? When did I get that? I lifted myself up on my elbows and looked into his worried brown eyes. He rubbed his thumb underneath my eye as if trying to make the traces go away.

"Have you been crying?"

"Sort of, I guess."

I didn't remember actually crying but it's not that hard to figure out why my eyes are all swollen right now. I guess that might have been the reason Billy hadn't greeted me in his usual joyful way.

"Why?" Jacob asked me and I hated the pained tone in his voice.

"It's a long story." I sighed.

I didn't feel like telling him what had happened after sleeping for a while but I knew it was something he should known and I wanted him to know.

"Will you tell me?"

I nodded but I didn't really know where to begin.

"Nathan came to my house a few hours ago."

He didn't start shaking but I could tell this upset him. I had promised to stay away from Nathan and him coming to my house must scare Jacob. I could tell he quickly checked me over for any kind of injuries.

"What did you do?" He asked me through clenched teeth.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. "I know I said I wouldn't go anywhere near him but he had wanted to talk about everything that had happened and he looked very much in control of himself."

"No new shape-shifter is in control of himself, Erin." Jacob sighed annoyed.

"I didn't let him in the house if that's any reassurance. I figured that if he lost control he could easily go to the forest." I tried to make it sound like I didn't just do something extremely irresponsible.

"Is that what upset you?"

"No, what he told me did. He said he felt terrible about not being able to talk to Bryan anymore especially after everything that he has been going through lately."

"Which is what?"

"Bryan has been tracking down our mother."

I watched Jacob's face closely so that I wouldn't miss a fraction of his reaction. His eyebrows rose up so he was clearly surprised but I couldn't really tell what he thought about it.

"I went to Bryan's room." I continued, letting Jacob softly stroke my hair as a form of comfort, which it was. "I found papers like her birth certificate, the divorce between her and my father and the house she bought. That wasn't all."

I had to stop for a moment because the lump in my throat was once again very present.

"What else?" He asked me softly.

"The documents of her marriage to another man named Mason Cobbs." I couldn't stop my lip from quivering.

"Erin..."

"Wait. I also found the birth certificate of her three year old daughter."

He seemed lost for words. I was as well. But the fact that he kept stroking my hair and held my waist with his other hand was the comfort I had been seeking. I buried my face in his chest again and without really wanting to a few tears made their way over my face again and onto his chest.

"Bryan basically said that she could be the sister he never had." I sobbed.

Jacob held me tightly and whispered in my ear that Bryan didn't mean it, that my mother was an idiot for not seeing what she had but for the first time ever, Jacob couldn't say anything that could make this pain go away and that frightened me.

He didn't say anything anymore and slowly I fell asleep. I woke up the next morning when Jacob's alarm clock went off. I groaned and turned around again. I was not in the mood to go to school today, especially not after everything that had happened yesterday.

"Wake up, Erin." Jacob gently shook me.

"I hate your alarm clock." I groaned, trying to make it shut up but I couldn't make anything out of all the buttons on the machine.

"You gave it to me." He laughed while reaching over and turning it off himself. "How are you feeling?" He asked me softly.

"Don't worry, I won't start crying again." I rolled my eyes before getting out of the bed.

I felt sort of ashamed over the fact that I cried like a little girl last night. I know Jacob didn't mind me using him as my shoulder to cry upon but I felt way too vulnerable knowing he had seen me like that. Last time he saw me cry at least I had walked away.

I quickly went in the bathroom to take a shower and locked the door so that Jacob couldn't follow me and nobody would walk in on me. Unfortunately I had rushed into the bathroom and that meant I hadn't thought about the fact that I had no clothes to wear besides what I had worn last night. Since I had slept in it, I didn't really feel the need to put them back on after my shower. I wrapped a towel around me and left the bathroom.

"Jacob?" I quickly tiptoed to his room again where he was sitting fully clothed on his bed, probably waiting for me.

He looked up when he had heard me say his name. When he saw what I was or was not wearing, his eyes got big and he got a bright smile on his face.

"I don't have any clothes." I said.

"I don't see why that is a problem." He grinned.

"Oh, so you would let me go to school like this?" I smiled.

"I'm sure I must have something lying around here." He quickly shot up, looking for something I could wear.

"We don't exactly have the same sense of fashion or the same size, Jacob." I shook my head.

To my surprise he pulled a dress out of his closet that looked surprisingly a lot like something that usually hangs in mine.

"How did that get here?" I cocked my eyebrow at him.

"I just thought it would be practical if you had some stuff lying around here, just in case." He smiled.

I took the dress and quickly got changed. It's not something I'd usually wear but it would just have to do. It's the dress I wear on dates or Christmas parties. It's a little too fancy to wear to school in my opinion.

"You look beautiful." Jacob smiled brightly at me when I entered his room again.

I just rolled my eyes when he kissed my cheek but was rather pleased with the compliment. I like wearing skirts and dresses from time to time but it always makes me feel a little exposed and aware of the fact that I'm not a super model.

So we quickly grabbed something to eat and Jacob drove us both to school. When we were in the parking lot I expected him to leave the car with me but he said he had patrol, again. Apparently Scott Huautah phased as well last night but he had told Sam he wouldn't leave my side. He kissed me goodbye and I walked inside on my own.

I was already a little late but didn't feel like hurrying to my class room. I was kind of glad it was already later. I didn't feel like accidentally running into my brother in the hallway. When I was taking my things out of my locker, a voice suddenly sounded very close to me.

"You look beautiful."

I realised that only half an hour ago, Jacob had told me the same thing but the way Bill Kholden said it, did not make me feel happy. I felt a little creeped out by the way he was looking at me.

"Thanks." I mumbled under my breath without any enthusiasm.

"You should wear skirts more often." The voice got closer.

I quickly closed my locker and turned around. Bill Kholden was standing way closer than I'd ever let any guy other than Jacob get to me.

"I have class." I said before turning and walking away from creepy Bill.

I had never known how strange he was. Maybe that's the reason I never spoke to him before and I just forgot why.

"You know, you're kind of pretty. I never noticed that before." Bill followed me.

I just glanced at him and decided to ignore his strange harassing comments.

"We should go out sometime, how about tomorrow?"

"I already have a boyfriend." I tried not to snap, for all I know he thought he was giving me a compliment.

"You mean Jacob Black. He's not for you." He simply stated.

"Not for me? What is that supposed to mean?" I turned around, getting rather pissed over the fact that once again someone implied that I wasn't good enough for Jacob.

"I'm just pointing out that he is Quileute and the Quileute people on this reservation tend to end up with other Quileute people. You and I have way more in common than you and him." He shrugged.

"Are you implying that you and I should date just because we're both pale?"

Now I was really angry. It didn't matter that I was pale and Jacob was Quileute. The idea that that was the only reason Bill even thought of asking me out was getting me angry as well.

"Well, that and there's that fact that you're kind of pretty." He grinned at me as if he had just given me the greatest compliment in the world.

I walked into my classroom and shut the door in his face. My teacher wasn't very pleased about that and since I was already pissed off, I didn't apologise for it which got me a detention tonight. That's just great.

_A lot of reviewers said that they had missed Jacob's presence in the last two chapters. I honestly hadn't noticed that he didn't make an appearance again for that long but I hope I made it up to you with this chapter. _


	67. Are you okay?

_Since I won't have the time to post a new chapter on Monday, this counts as your new update for Monday (even though it's Saturday right now). I also want to use this to thank everyone who has reviewed this story and not just this chapter but everyone! THANK YOU! And of course I loved all the reviews that I've gotten so once again thank you __**kikikiki, , SundaySolis, GiaLunaLove, Pretty Monster Princess, Alaina08, adids14, Destined2RunWithTheWolves, ForeverTeamEdward13, Imprinting Magic, embleu44, Mebs2010, snarkychic13, imperfection676, angel057 and MysteriousAndChaotic. **_

**Chapter 67**

I couldn't help but think about what Bill Kholden had said to me this morning. Quileute people don't end up with non-Quileute people. I know me and Jacob aren't just any people and he imprinted on me so we're sort of meant to be. But there was that certain truth in his words that had gotten me thinking. I had made the same assumption as Bill did when Jacob had first shown interest in me. Guys with a family history like Jacob Black shouldn't date a non-Quileute girl.

"You seem in deep thought." Andy interrupted my thoughts when he sat down next to me in the cafeteria.

I had been sitting alone because Jackie was nowhere to be found and the largest part of the pack wasn't in school and that included Jacob. The only ones sitting at the table were Collin, Seth, Zoe and Paul. I'm not a big fan of most of them so I preferred to sit by myself today.

"Yeah, didn't see you coming." I mumbled.

"Did I tell you what happened in class today?"

When I shook my head, Andy told me the story of how Thomas Door had completely lost it in class when the teacher told him to pay attention. Both Jared and Quil were necessary to drag him out of class. Since then neither of them had been seen by anyone. So the pack counted thirteen people now. I wouldn't be allowed near Emily's house for a while with all the new shape-shifters hanging out there.

I had detention after my last class and I'll have to walk all the way home afterwards since Jacob didn't answer his phone and my dad had gone to work with our car. Detention was boring. All I had to do was sit in an empty classroom, staring out the window. The teacher wasn't paying attention so I had the time to text Jackie after she had sent me a message.

'**Girls' night tonight at my place. I'm expecting you at nine.'**

'I'm still not going.' I texted her back.

Normally I wouldn't say no to her again but after everything that had happened in the past 24 hours, I really didn't want to have a girls' night. She'd just have to do it without me.

'**Don't be annoying. All the other imprints are coming. I'll drag you here by your hair if I have to. See you tonight.'**

I didn't text her back but I expected her on my doorstep tonight at nine o'clock. Detention eventually ended and still in an awful mood I walked home. It was raining and the only thing I was wearing was the dress so I quickly got completely soaked. Coming home I noticed that the house was awfully quiet. I guess Bryan still didn't feel like talking to me but I felt like there were still so many things we had to talk about and I rather face it all head on.

"Bryan?" I knocked on his door but didn't receive an answer, just like I had expected.

I opened the door to peek in. Bryan wasn't there. Matter of fact it seemed like he hadn't been here in a while. The papers I had thrown in his face last night were still lying in the middle of the floor. I thought he would have at least put them back in the drawer. One page however wasn't there anymore. The one that contained the address of her recent home. What does that mean?

Only then did I notice the fact that his closet was open. I quickly opened the door a little more so I could properly look inside. It was empty. All his clothes, all his stuff was gone. Bryan was gone.

I pulled my phone out as fast as I could and called him. He didn't pick up. I saw his laptop lying on his desk and quickly went to turn it on. I didn't have to, it was still on. The website said that the train to Portland should be taken in Seattle at 20:33...yesterday. Bryan left for Portland yesterday? My knees felt extremely wobbly out of the blue and I felt like someone had just ripped the ground from underneath my feet. I needed to sit down but I couldn't stay in this room anymore. I stumbled downstairs and when I finally made it to the kitchen, I threw up in the sink.

Everything got blurry and I felt as if I might pass out any moment. I never knew emotions could have such a strong reaction on my body. With shaky hands I poured myself a glass of water and when I drank it, I felt better.

Bryan left? To find her, the mother who abandoned him nine years ago. Why? I couldn't understand why he would want to see her again. I never understood my brother very well but I didn't expect this. I knew he didn't consider her as the great villain in his life, that was me and my father but I never in a million years thought he would leave us to find her.

"Erin!"

I hadn't heard the front door open, neither had I heard anyone entering the kitchen. I prayed that it would be Bryan who stood behind me but the person was standing so close I could already feel the abnormal heath coming from the body.

"Jacob..." I quickly turned around to throw myself in his arms but I stopped myself.

The eyes I looked into were not the warm ones I had expected, neither was the face the one of the man I loved.

"Nathan, what are you doing here?" I recovered myself.

"You promised me!"

Nathan had this hateful look on his face and was trembling with anger when he trapped me against the kitchen counter.

"What?" I breathed out barely because he had me pressed against the counter so tightly that breathing came less naturally.

"You said you wouldn't tell Bryan!" He growled in my face.

"I said I would think about it." I squeaked out.

His shaking intensified and the grip he had on my arm felt as if it was crushing my bones.

"Stop it, you're hurting me!"

But he didn't care. He kept growling in my face and his grip on my arm intensified to the point I thought I would hear something break any moment now. I pleaded for him to let me go but it was as if the man in front of me was no longer Nathan. There was only the wolf right now. I pushed against his chest but he wouldn't butch.

Something shiny in the corner of my eye caught my attention. If I wanted Nathan to release his tight grip on me, I'd have to take drastic measures. With my free hand I grabbed the knife and slashed open his face. The roar that followed it no longer held a trace of humanity but my action had done what I needed. Nathan loosened his grip for a split second that was long enough for me to get the hell out of the kitchen. I could hear things break behind me and once I made it to the hallway I turned around.

Nathan had phased in my kitchen. The size of him was too big to get through the door so he was stuck in the kitchen. He growled for a little longer but after a while the look in his eyes changed. He whined at me. He felt guilty and ashamed of what just happened I'm sure. I sat down in front of him on the floor but still safely out of his grasp. He whined again. I figured that he was not able to phase back since he's new to the whole shape-shifter thing. I pulled my phone out again and dialled Sam's house number.

"Who's this?"

"Erin." I said softly.

"If you're looking for Jacob, he left over an hour ago. He went home since you had detention."

"I'm not calling for him."

"Oh, then why are you? Is everything okay?"

His question seemed so ridiculous in this situation that I almost laughed out loud but it sounded more like a sob than anything else.

"No, I am not okay. There is a giant wolf in my kitchen!"

Nathan whined again. He must know he's in big trouble with Sam now.

"What?" Sam shouted.

"Could you please just come and get him?" I asked before hanging up.

The moment Sam would phase, he'd see what had happened in Nathan's mind. I didn't want to say anything anymore. I just wanted to sit on the floor and cry my eyes out. Nathan's whining interrupted that.

"Bryan left." I told him.

Something tells me he already knew that because he didn't look very surprised. Maybe I should be angry at the shape-shifter in front of me but my anger was reserved for someone else, someone I would never forgive for this. Myself.

A few minutes later two large men walked into my house and stared with big eyes at the giant wolf in my kitchen. Sam immediately entered the kitchen to help Nathan phase back. I hope it will be an easy task since I don't want my dad to come home and find Nathan like this in our kitchen. I'll already have a hard time explaining where Bryan is. The second shape-shifter that had just entered my home, Paul, didn't seem to have anything to do because he voluntarily spoke to me without any menace in his voice.

"Are you hurt?" He mumbled without even properly looking at me.

Yes, I am. My soul and heart just got crushed by my only brother and I only have myself to blame for it.

"Just a bruise." I answered him and showed him the arm that had been in Nathan's vice grip, too late realising it was the arm that had fallen victim to Paul as well.

I quickly pulled my arm back but I still saw the guilty expression pass his face right before he went back to his strong and cold facade.

"You're bleeding." Paul told me when he knelt down before me and checked my injuries.

I looked down at my shirt and saw that there was indeed blood on it but it wasn't mine. I didn't have any injuries other than the large bruise on my arm.

"It's Nathan's blood." I sighed. "I cut his face with a kitchen knife."

"Wow, bad ass." He tried to grin at me.

"No, just bad."

"You okay? You don't seem like yourself. Normally you'd say stuff like 'he totally had it coming'." Paul almost seemed genuinely worried about me. Why? He was the only one who had been right all along.

"I'm very much like myself. You know, the cancer that tears people down." I sniffed.

"Erin... I was angry and upset when I said those words. I didn't mean them."

"Doesn't mean you weren't right. Because you were, you are. I'm a terrible person who pushes people away and makes them feel like they don't matter."

I pushed Bryan away and now he's gone because he thinks there is nothing here for him. Because I'm such a bitch he'd rather be with our terrible mother than stay one more day in this house with me.

"Your brother leaving doesn't have anything to do with you." Paul said before pulling me awkwardly closer to him. "Do you need a ride to Jacob's house?"

I nodded and let Paul pull me to my feet. Sam was still trying to get Nathan to phase back when Paul guided me into Nathan's car because he and Sam had ran all the way and he got behind the steering wheel himself.

"I'm sorry about your brother."

I shrugged. I didn't know what to say about it anymore.

"Just so you know, he's the one who did something wrong and not you."

For the first time since I had gotten into the car did I pull my eyes away from the road and looked at him.

"Why do you say that?"

This was my fault, I did something wrong. All Bryan wanted was to find his mother again but I had made it clear to him that I wouldn't let him so he did what he thought was the only way.

"Family means sticking together, protecting each other. You tried to shield him from your mother and the past. He just ran away and didn't think about what it would do to his family. She's not his family, you are."

When did Paul become so understanding? But his parents left him behind as well, maybe he understands all of this better than anyone else. Then again he doesn't really have a sibling.

"How would you know what I do and don't do for my brother?"

"Because the pack is a family as well. We take care of each other as well and whether I like it or not that makes you and I a part of the same family. You take care of me."

What? He must have seen the confused look on my face because he smiled a little teasingly.

"Mrs Benton told me she was very pleased with my last two assignments for the tutoring. She told me you always handed them in for me."

"Oh, that."

"You shouldn't have done that." He said once again to me. "You really shouldn't have but thank you anyway."

When we got to Jacob's house, we had slipped back into a comfortable silence. Jacob was already standing outside in the rain, as if he had been expecting me. He seemed on edge and almost ran to the car once Paul stopped.

"We already told him what happened." Paul told me right before a frantic Jacob pulled open the car door.

"Are you okay?"

I nodded but the truth is I'm not. Physically I am though and that seemed to relieve Jacob. I was glad when he pulled me out of the car and into one of his big bear hugs that make me feel so loved each and every time.

"Thanks." Jacob nodded to Paul.

Paul nodded back and quickly got into his car again. Before I could say anything to him anymore, he had already started the engine and took off. Without saying another word, Jacob quickly guided me inside.

"You're all wet, you'll get a cold."

I was still wearing the dress from this morning and my hair had not gotten the time to dry yet since I had gotten home. The rain that was pouring down right now didn't help either. I must look like crap. I certainly feel like it.

"You should take a shower and get changed. You can wear something from me." He ushered me to the bathroom.

I took a shower just like Jacob had told me to do but the entire time I couldn't stop thinking about Bryan and where he would be now. Or if my father knew and how I was going to explain all of this to him. Or if maybe Bryan had been right and I had been wrong and maybe she would be happy to see him. Or if-

"Erin? Everything okay?" Jacob's voice came from the other side of the door.

People should stop asking me that question because I'm getting tired of having to lie about it.

"Yeah, I'm almost done." I told him after turning off the water.

Jacob had given me one of his joggings and a large shirt. When I put his clothes on, I seemed to be drowning in them but at least I was warm again. As soon as I left the bathroom, Jacob stood in front of me.

"Are you hungry?"

I wasn't really but the clock on the wall told me I should have been. It was already rather late and I still hadn't eaten anything since lunch. To please Jacob I just nodded that I was. There was still some left over pasta that he heated up and we ate in silence.

"Distract me." I told him once I could no longer bare the silence, it made my mind go crazy.

"With what?"

"Anything. Please."

I was pleading and it seemed to take him by surprise since he didn't start talking again for a while.

"Sam doubled my patrol today because I got a little angry at Emily for suggesting that you should come over some time soon."

"You're a terrible distraction." I laughed humourlessly.

I don't think anything could take my mind of the fact that Bryan was gone. It was all that I thought about. I couldn't even reprimand Jacob for yelling at Emily because the moment he had said it, my mind had already gone back to my brother.

"Maybe we should talk about it." Jacob suggested.

"Or maybe not."

Truth is that he might be right. By the look on his face I could say for sure that he definitely thought he was right. I sighed, got up and sat down in Jacob's lap because feeling him near me makes me feel safe and not alone anymore.

"I don't know what to say about it. He's gone and it's my fault." I whispered, trying not to make my voice come out too weak but it did.

"Your fault? How could any of this be your fault?"

"He left because I've pushed him away. That's what I do. I pushed him away, just like I did with you and now he's gone, just like my mom."

"This is nothing like the situation with your mother, Erin. Bryan will be back as soon as he realises the mistake he's made."

"You think so?"

"Yes, definitely. He just needed to find out on his own that she isn't the great mother he made her out to be in his mind."

"Why? I told him so, plenty of times."

"Let's see how I can best explain it. He knows the stories from you, he barely remembers her himself. If I were to ever get the chance to see if the stories I heard from my dad and my sisters were true about my mother, I would."

"He...doesn't believe me?" I asked Jacob.

"No. Oh, I'm explaining it all wrong. I just mean that at this point the stories and the few memories aren't enough for him anymore and he needs to see for himself if she really is the person you and your dad made her out to be. As soon as he realises that she is, he'll be back."

"You really think so?"

"Yes." He said while stroking my hair again.

"If you're wrong, I'll beat you up." I pouted.

"No, you won't." He smiled.

"Thanks Jacob, for everything."

I was glad he was here. What if all of this had happened before me and Jacob met? I would be a total wreck while now I'm just a small one who'll get put back together with Jacob's help.


	68. Hidden secrets

_Well, it looks like we're back to Monday updates. :) I was really glad with all the reviews I got for the last chapter so a really big thank you to __**nene82743, ForeverTeamEdward13, Alaina08, embleu44, Pretty Monster Princess, Imprinting Magic, SundaySolis, Mebs2010, kikikiki, Destined2RunWithTheWolves, Becca97, SapphirexMoonlight, bookfreak345, Alenerien, GiaLunaLove, k4tie4 and MysteriousAndChaotic! **__I just hope you all don't hate Bryan too much. Fair, it wasn't good what he did but he just wants to know his mother. We'll just have to wait and see if Jacob is right about him coming back. But I definitely know now that a lot of you hope he'll come crawling back to Erin and beg her on his knees. :D _

_Hope you like this chapter as well._

**Chapter 68**

I had spent the night with Jacob and slept terribly. My dreams had been filled with a future where Bryan did not come back. Every time I woke up in the middle of the night, it took me a while to realise I was not in my own house. I also kept thinking about how I would tell my father that and why Bryan was gone. Maybe he already knew, he'd definitely start asking some questions once he sees the kitchen's state.

Around 6 o'clock in the morning I woke up again, in an empty bed this time. Jacob had left me a note saying he had to run patrols but he'd be back soon. Great, now I wouldn't even have Jacob here to keep my mind off my brother.

Eventually I could not get back to sleep without Jacob so I got up and ate some breakfast. Billy was still sleeping, I assumed for the lights were all off. I checked my phone during breakfast and saw that Bryan had still not called. My father however did and had left me a voicemail. I reluctantly listened to what he had to say.

"Erin, it's your dad. Imagine my surprise when I come home after work to find both of my children gone, again. Instead I find Sam Uley who apparently you hired to break open our kitchen floor. Didn't you find it necessary to tell me about this? Call me back as soon as possible and tell your brother to do the same. I can't get a hold on him either."

So Sam had come up with some kind of excuse for the kitchen's ruins. I should probably call my dad, he'd eventually realise that my brother won't be back any time soon, or maybe not at all. That's not a conversation I want to have on the phone so I should head back home. I pinned a note to the fridge to let Jacob know I went to my place again. I didn't want him to worry about me when there are already so many other things he has to worry about.

"Dad?" I asked when I entered the house again after walking all the way.

I didn't get an answer so I entered the house a little further. My kitchen was a mess. It looked awful. Nathan had really committed to tearing it down. The floor was almost completely gone but I've got the idea that might have been to make Sam's excuse more realistic.

"Erin, there you are."

My dad came down the stairs and looked like he had only just woken up. He didn't seem too angry or too upset so I'm guessing he doesn't know yet that his only son took off just like his wife had done all those years ago.

"Where were you last night? I expect you to let me know when you spend the night somewhere else."

"I was at Jacob's."

"What?"

He was angry but not even close to how angry he'd be when I tell him everything that happened yesterday.

"How many times do I have to-"

"It's not like something happened, dad. My mind was somewhere else."

Only now did my dad notice my mood.

"What's wrong?"

What isn't? I didn't really know how to tell my dad what had happened in the past 48 hours. Was it really only 48 hours?

"It's about Bryan." I whispered.

"Is everything okay? Did something happen to Bryan?"

"I think it'd be better if I show you."

Maybe it wasn't really better but this would be easier for me. I don't think I could really say the words and tell him that Bryan is gone. I went up the stairs to my brother's room and I heard my father following behind me, continuously asking me what had happened. The room was still the same, as if he was still here. I picked up the papers on the floor and silently handed them over to my father.

"What is this?"

"Please, just read it." I sighed.

My dad took the papers and looked at them. During the time he read them I saw a lot of emotions cross his face. There was confusion, anger, disappointment but the most prominent of them all was hurt. Bryan's action had hurt my father and maybe not just that. The fact that my mother had moved on, got remarried and had a child with another man hurt my father. I think I might hate her even more now.

"Where's Bryan?" he finally looked up.

"Portland." I whispered softly.

"I'm calling the police." He said before going downstairs.

"What?"

I ran after him but couldn't change his mind. My dad called the cops and soon Charlie Swan was in my house, asking my father all kinds of questions about my brother. Apparently Bryan is now a runaway and Chief Swan promised my father he'd try his best to find him. Can you really find someone who doesn't want to be found? Bryan didn't really do something against the law, right? At least that's what I thought. He had caused quite some problems but there is nothing illegal about going to visit your mother. But as it turns out she is no longer our mother in the eyes of the law. She gave up her rights as a mother in an official document six years ago as a favour to my father if he granted her the divorce she wanted so she could remarry. My dad told it so coldly against Charlie Swan, he didn't even notice the shock on my face. Or maybe he just chose to ignore it. How come Bryan and dad know these things about her and I don't?

I sat on the couch listening to everything my father told chief Swan, when the door bell rang. I quickly got up and opened the door to find Jacob on the other side.

"Why is there a police car in front of your house?" He was once again freaking out.

"Dad called them. I told him that Bryan is gone."

His face relaxed a bit once he realised it wasn't actually me who was in trouble. I let him in the house and even though I'm sure my dad wasn't all too pleased with that, he said nothing.

"Hello Jacob." Chief Swan smiled strangely at him.

For a moment I had forgotten who Charlie Swan was. He might be the chief of police but he is still Bella Swan's father in the first place. I had only seen him once before, at Jacob's house when he had looked at me as if I certainly didn't belong by Jacob's side. Well, I definitely proved him wrong. Swan said goodbye to me and my father. He awkwardly looked at Jacob before leaving the house again.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked but Jacob just pointed at my father who was listening.

"I'm very sorry, Sir." Jacob told my father and even though he didn't respond, I think he still appreciated it.

My dad went back upstairs to do God knows what but at least it gave me some alone time with Jacob. I sat on the couch and pulled him down to sit next to me. I once again asked him what was wrong with chief Swan because he definitely didn't use to be that awkward around Jacob.

"I phased in front of him."

"You what?"

"I did it as a favour to Bella." He said silently for a good reason. He knows damn well I'm going to get angry over this.

"Another favour to Bella? Wasn't letting her leech family live not enough? Or the fact that the entire pack is risking their lives for the Cullens!"

"If it helps, she was not glad that I did it." He still tried.

"And she's not even grateful?" I shouted.

"So that didn't help?"

"Why? Why would you even do that?"

"The fact that her father didn't know any of the stuff that had happened to her and that she'd never see him again, was killing her. I just saw a way to fix it."

"By phasing in front of him?"

"At least now he knows about the supernatural and he can visit Bella."

"Great, as long as Bella is happy the whole world makes sense." I snapped.

"I didn't tell you because I knew this would upset you and honestly, I had kind of forgotten about it. There are way more important things on my mind."

I chose to ignore that last comment and stay angry. At least this argument took my mind of my brother for five minutes.

"I still don't get why. Why would you do that and risk everything? He could have told someone!"

"He didn't and I knew he wouldn't. I couldn't stand to see her suffering. I can't stand to see anyone suffer."

"Why does your heart have to be so goddamn big?" I sighed.

"It's part of the reason that you love me." He tried to make me smile.

"It's also often the reason that I'm mad at you." I reminded him.

"I'm sorry."

"No, you're not." I sighed.

"Yes, I am. Because you're upset and I'm so sorry that I upset you." He said.

How can you stay mad at him when he says something like that and looks at you with those big beautiful pleading eyes? I certainly can't. I sighed and sat back down next to him.

"It's not really that which I'm upset about." I leaned against him.

"I know." He once again stroked my hair.

We sat like that for a few minutes without talking when my phone suddenly went off. I made no intention to pick it up so Jacob did instead.

"It's Jackie." He said once he read the screen.

"Oh, shit!" I exclaimed.

I had completely forgotten that I was supposed to go to her place last night for the girl's night. I didn't want to pick up the phone and explain to her everything that had happened lately. I found it strange to realise that she didn't even know it yet. Normally she'd be the first person I'd go to. It's a little sad to realise that we are clearly not the same as we used to be. Our friendship had to make way for Embry and Jacob.

I did not call her back, neither did I respond to any of her text messages. I only saw her again in school on Monday. I had stayed at my house the entire weekend with my only company being my silent father and my trustworthy Jacob. My father hardly said anything to me during the weekend. Not because he was angry but because he felt the same guilt weigh on him as I did and no words could make it disappear.

Jacob had given me a ride to school but once again had to leave in due of training the new shape-shifters. Apparently he's been giving Nathan a hard time but I didn't have the energy to interfere with his tough training. I already ran into Jackie in the hallways.

"Where were you Friday? We all waited for you to show up and you didn't. You didn't even give us a phone call or anything! And then you deliberately ignored all my calls and messages!"

She seemed angry but the thing about an angry Jackie is that it's not scary in the slightest. So I didn't really respond to her rambling. I was still not in the mood to handle such trivial things as a missed girl's night.

"And it could have been such a fun night. All the other were there and we got to learn a bit more about Zoe. She really isn't as bad as you make her out to be. And I had such big news that I wanted to tell you. I'm not staying in La Push next year but I'm going with Kim to Seattle University. Sure, it's still far away from home but Embry can run all the way to Seattle on the days where it becomes unbearable not to be with each other. Isn't that great? Kim and I are going to share an apartment because none of us will be too surprised when Jared or Embry suddenly shows up unannounced. That might cause a problem with other roommates. We're going to see for some possible apartments next weekend and I wanted-"

"Shut. Up." I stopped her rambling.

"What?"

"Did you realise that you said 'I' in about every sentence that leaves your mouth? Where's the 'hey, Erin we missed you Friday night. Is everything okay?' or maybe a 'you seem upset, what's wrong?'. I'm feeling terrible but not like you care. My brother running away from home to find our mother in Portland isn't interesting to you because not once did I say 'Jackie' in a sentence." I snapped at her.

"Oh my God, how come I didn't know that?"

Again with the 'I'!

"Because when something bad happens, I don't feel the need to talk to you." I said before walking away to my first class.

I realise I might have been a little mean towards Jackie but I'm starting to realise that she hasn't been my friend in a long time. When is the last time she and I had a conversation that wasn't about her and Embry? Sadly enough, I can't remember.

_I know not that much happened in this chapter but it was necessary to lead up to certain conflicts... Did I make you curious? :) _


	69. One fine day

_Not a lot of reviews this time :( So I'm extra grateful to the ones who did review. Thank you so much __**Imprinting Magic, ForeverTeamEdawrd13, Pretty Monster Princess, SundaySolis, kikikiki, Alaina08, wolfhappiness, Destined2RunWithTheWolves, bookfreak345, embleu44, GiaLunaLove, Sugar-Ice, Alenerien and MysteriousAndChaotic!**_

_I'm back to reviewing on Monday (at least it's Monday for me)but I've been writing a lot lately and I'm working on chapter 74 right now. If you're all really nice to me, I might update a second time this week :) _

_Please let me know what you think of this chapter. I tried to make this one a little lighter because Erin's been dealing with a lot of crap lately. Enjoy!_

**Chapter 69**

I didn't speak to Jackie again until the end of the day. I was waiting for Jacob to give me a ride home but he seemed to be a little late. I guess he was still preoccupied with the new shape-shifters.

"Erin?"

I didn't have to turn around to know that the voice belonged to Jackie. I didn't feel like fighting anymore and I had started to feel guilty about the way I snapped at her. Embry glaring at me from the other side of the parking lot definitely did not help.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I yelled at you this morning. The last thing you probably want to hear about right now a girl's night or apartment watching."

She did sound sincerely sorry. I turned around to look at her.

"It's okay. I'm sorry I snapped at you as well."

"But you were right. The only thing I talk about is myself. I haven't been a really good friend to you in a long time."

"That's not true." I told her but I lied.

"Do you want to talk about it? About Bryan?" She asked me hopefully.

"Not really." I told her.

I already talked about it with Jacob and I definitely didn't feel the need to say it all over again. I was getting tired of hearing my own voice say the same things.

"Oh, okay."

She seemed disappointed but this wasn't about her. This was about my brother and I don't think Jackie has any idea about what he means to me, mainly because I always nag about him. But he's still my brother and now that he's gone, I really miss him.

Jacob's truck pulled in the parking lot and I quickly said goodbye to Jackie. I got into the car and greeted Jacob with a quick kiss on the lips.

"Have you been in school at all today?" I asked him when he started the engine again.

"No, Sam needed my help with the three new guys."

"Are you being hard on Nathan?" I finally asked him.

"Yes, but I have to be. He phased in front of you. He's clearly not ready to go back to school."

"And the fact that he phased in front of your imprint, has nothing to do with it?" I cocked an eyebrow.

"It has everything to do with it." He grumbled.

"He didn't mean for any of it to happen, Jacob." I tried to reason with him.

"That doesn't matter! If you hadn't grabbed that knife-" He growled, clenching his hands around the steering wheel.

I put my hand over his and he calmed down a little. He looked at me and he seemed really worried and upset over the fact that Nathan could have so easily hurt me.

"I can't stand knowing how close he came to-"

"Let's talk about something else." I smiled. "Like where you are driving us."

"Well, you wanted to be distracted, right?"

"Where are we going?"

But he wouldn't tell me the entire ride. I'm not stupid though, I knew very well we were driving in the direction of Port Angeles. The entire ride Jacob told me about the progress the new shape-shifters had made and how they all hoped no one else would phase anymore. Apparently there has been some tension between Embry and Thomas Door, just like I had predicted. Thomas would definitely get a kick out of teasing Embry with the memories of him and Jackie together. It would drive Embry insane.

"We're here." Jacob proudly announced when he parked his car.

"Where exactly is that?" I asked him because I didn't immediately recognise anything in the area.

"Port Angeles." He grinned.

"I know that." I laughed. "I was looking for a more specific answer."

He just shook his head and got out of his truck. I followed him in the direction of the boulevard of Port Angeles and let him pull me to one of the smaller streets. We entered a little sushi bar there.

"I thought it were cats who liked fish, not dogs." I smiled.

"You like sushi." He shrugged before picking out a table where we could sit down.

I smiled brightly at Jacob. He's a trash can, he'd eat anything but I know he prefers fast food over sushi. I'm not even sure he's ever eaten it before. When I saw the way he was looking at the dish we had ordered together, I knew for sure he had never eaten it before.

"So, what do you think of it?" I asked him after he had tasted it for the first time.

"Seriously? You hate it when we eat hamburgers, yet you voluntarily eat a slimy raw fish?" He pulled a disgusted face.

"We can eat somewhere else if you want to but just so you know, I do like hamburgers. I just don't like eating them every single day."

"No, if you can endure McDonalds for me, I can surely endure this." He took another bite.

Endure McDonalds? Going there is like a party in my tummy on the condition that we only eat it once a month. I chose not to voice that thought because I got him so far to eat at a sushi bar with me. Though the look of disgust on his face whenever he took another bite, definitely didn't improve my appetite.

"Will you please stop making such faces all the time?" I smiled.

"What faces?"

"The ones that make it very clear you are not a sushi fan. I think you might be insulting the waiter."

He smiled a sorry at me and tried very hard not to make any facial expressions for the rest of dinner. Despite his clear disgust I still had a pretty good meal. I was however the only one because when we left the place, Jacob's stomach growled. Sushi portions are not made for shape-shifters so I shouldn't be surprised when Jacob was still hungry.

"We can always stop by McDonalds." I suggested but he just shook his head.

"No, we can't. We're on a tight schedule and I won't let my stomach interfere." He grabbed my hand and we walked back to the boulevard.

"And what might our tight schedule contain?" I tried once again but he just smiled and shook his head.

We followed the boulevard for a while until we came to a part of the beach where there appeared to be something going on.

"What's that?" I asked Jacob.

"There are some local bands performing here tonight on the beach. I thought it might be fun. And there's free beer." He smiled.

"Beer?" I fake gasped. "You'd let me drink alcohol?"

We're both not old enough to drink but that doesn't mean we never have. Since Jacob's warm body burns everything off as soon as it enters his body, alcohol hardly has any effect on him but he's made it very clear that he doesn't like me drinking. I think he's afraid I'd do something stupid like dance on tables or kiss another guy. As if!

"Yes, I've decided that you should live a little. And if later on tonight the alcohol makes you take of your clothes and crawl naked into bed with me, well I guess that's a risk I'm willing to take." He grinned at me.

"Really? How brave of you." I smiled brightly at him.

We had been there for a little while, listening to music and drinking a little. Jacob kept an eye on my alcohol consummation and made sure I didn't drink more than he found acceptable. Normally I'd really hate him making the rules for me but tonight I was glad there was someone watching over me. After all he was way better at taking care of me than I was at taking care of myself.

"Oh, fuck!" Jacob suddenly swore and since he normally never does that, he took me by surprise.

"What's wrong?"

"I wanted you to have fun tonight." He groaned.

"I am having fun."

"Not for long."

He was staring angrily at something behind me. When I turned around I saw Emma Hurley approach us. What the hell was she doing here? Wasn't she banned to Forks or something like that? She had noticed us as well but on contrary of mine and Jacob's annoyed faces, she smiled and made her way over to where we had been sitting on the beach.

"Hi Jacob. Hi Erin." She smiled so fake at us. "Mind if we sit down?"

Before I could tell her to go away, she and the guy who had been tagging along sat down. This was bound to be an awkward conversation.

"How have you guys been? It's seems like I haven't seen you in forever." She smiled at us as if we were childhood friends.

"Great." I said dryly because Jacob seemed too angry to say anything.

Emma didn't find the hateful look on Jacob very scary but the guy watched him cautiously as if he was about to attack him. Even though the idea of Emma being squashed by a giant wolf was very amusing in my mind, I wouldn't let Jacob lose control like that. I put my hand on his arm again but it only helped a little. He was still trying to glare Emma to dead and she was pretending as if she didn't see it.

"So... Euhm...How do you guys know each other?" The guy's eyes went from Emma to me and back to Emma, deliberately avoiding making eye contact with Jacob.

"Oh, me and Jacob go way back." Emma smiled.

"Emma used to go to school with us." I told the guy politely, after all I don't know if it's his fault he got stuck with a bitch like her.

"You're from La Push as well?" The guy asked me shocked.

And now I'm not going to be polite anymore. Why does everyone always act so weird about the fact that I'm a pale face living on the reservation? Get over it! Jacob noticed that his comment had ticked me off and quickly interfered.

"Well, we have to get going." He got up and extended his hand to me.

I was glad he was getting us out of here. I took his hand and let him pull me to my feet. Neither of us said anything to Emma or her date anymore. We walked back to the car in silence. He was still trying to calm down and I was still too pissed off by the guy's comment to help Jacob with that. It wasn't really his comment that had upset me, it's the fact that it reminded me of what Bill Kholden had said not so long ago.

"I'm sorry." Jacob said to me when we had gotten into the car and he took off.

"You don't have anything to be sorry about." I turned to him.

"I just wanted you to have one night where you wouldn't worry so much about your brother anymore. I just wanted you to have a great night." He sighed.

"I did. Besides Emma showing up I had a lot of fun tonight and I'm really glad you took me here." I smiled softly at him.

I kissed his cheek and snuggled up into his side. He wrapped his free arm around. Suddenly he didn't seem so upset anymore.

"Pull over." I told him after a while.

"Why?"

"Just pull over."

Jacob did what I asked him to do. I pointed towards the McDonalds across the street.

"We can eat in your car, right?" I asked him.

"You want to eat fast food?" He cocked his eyebrow.

"You 'endured' sushi for me, I can eat a hamburger. Plus I feel kind of bad that you hardly ate anything tonight and we both know your body needs a lot fuel."

Jacob waited for me in the car while I went to get us something to eat. When I got back to the car, he had just hung up his phone.

"Who was that?" I asked him while pulling our his share, which was about ¾ of everything I just bought.

"Embry. Apparently you upset his girlfriend. He called to tell me I should make you apologise to her."

"Make me?"

"Kindly ask of course but if you don't want to apologies, you don't have to."

"How generous of you." I smiled.

"What did you say to her anyway that she sent Embry after us?"

"I might have sort of accused her of not being a good friend."

"Why did you say that?"

Because she has been a bad friend to me lately.

"Because when I told her about Bryan, the first thing that left her mouth was 'How come I didn't know that?' instead of 'how are you dealing with all this, Erin?'. It pissed me off and I might have said some things I shouldn't have."

Jacob can't possible enjoy hearing about girl drama but he nodded at the right places and told me that Jackie and I would soon work everything out. We've already been friends for so long.

"We're having a bonfire this Saturday."

"Why?"

Usually there was always some kind of reason for a bonfire. Last time we had one was because Emily thought I should properly hear the legends after Jacob had phased in front of me.

"Because of Zoe?" I answered my own question.

"Seth thinks he's ready to tell her about the pack and more importantly, about imprinting." Jacob said.

So Zoe would know the truth soon. I wonder how she'll respond to the whole thing. Will she freak out or be all accepting about it? I absolutely had no idea how she was going to take it but Zoe was none of my concern so why should I even care about how she's going to take it.

"You'll be there?"

"Of course." I smiled.

We ate and laughed over silly things on the ride back to La Push. I was really glad Jacob had taken me out tonight. It felt like I hadn't had any fun in such a long time.

"You're studying, right?" I suddenly asked him when he turned into my driveway.

"Studying? For what?"

"Jacob! We're graduating soon and one of the criteria to graduate is good grades."

"I'm too busy trying to not get the entire pack killed."

I know he's busy but I still want him to graduate. I want us to graduate together.

"You have to graduate. You'd look so good in a toga." I grinned. "We'll have matching outfits."

"Well, I do want matching outfits." He smiled. "But I honestly don't have a lot of time to study. If I do that as well I'll practically never see you."

"We can study together. That way you'll graduate and we'll still be able to spend some time together. I could definitely use some studying."

He chose to ignore my last comment but agreed to be my study buddy. It might not be the best idea because I'm sure Jacob would be way too distracting to actually focus on my books but I would try everything to make sure Jacob would graduate with me this year.

When I entered the house, all the lights were off. Not a very big surprise to me because my dad's at work and Bryan isn't here but it still made me feel kind of lonely. The house suddenly seemed so scary and I did not look forward to staying here on my own. That's why I was grateful Jacob suddenly showed up behind me.

"What's wrong? I noticed you stood in the doorway for a long time."

"Could you stay? I mean, I know Billy is probably expecting you at home but you'll climb through my window in a few hours anyway and I really don't want to be here alone right now." I pleaded.

"Of course."

Jacob closed the door behind him and we settled in front of the TV together. We watched some lame show that Jacob wanted to see. I wasn't paying attention to it anyway. I was too busy staring at Jacob's face. I'm sure he noticed me looking at him the entire time but he was nice enough to not make a cocky comment about it. Today was the most time I had spend with Jacob in weeks thanks to all the Cullen drama. I hadn't realised until today how much I had missed him.

"The really interesting things are happening on the screen, you know." He smiled.

"Says you."

He turned off the TV and looked at me with that beautiful smile on his face. He took my face gently in his hands and pressed a kiss on my lips.

"Why were you staring at me like that?" He grinned slightly.

"I was just thinking about how much I missed you." I told him honestly.

His smile got even bigger and he pulled my lips to his again. I didn't want him to pull away soon so I crawled into his lap, still not letting go of his lips. He slipped his hands into my hair and pulled me close to him. I was glad that I didn't have to worry about my dad walking in on us since he would be working for another few hours.

"We should go upstairs." I stopped Jacob.

"Why? I'm not tired." He pouted.

"Neither am I." I grinned.

It didn't take much else to get Jacob in my room.


	70. Study method

_Even my promise of updating sooner didn't get me more reviews but that's okay. I still want to share this chapter with all of you. I really like this chapter and I hope you do too. I want to thank the people who reviewed for chapter 69: __**Sugar-Ice, kikikiki, SundaySolis, weasleytwins12, Alaina08, Destined2RunWithTheWolves, wolfhappiness, ForeverTeamEdward13, Lorelei, Kora, Pretty Monster Princess, Geekster, GymnastQueen and Crazy Cuccumbers. **__Thank you so much for reviewing, it made me very happy. _

_Last chapter was not M-rated because it's still a T-rated story. So I'll have to disappoint the people who are still waiting for an M chapter, because that's not going to happen. Sorry of that disappoints you. _

_I hope you all like this chapter as well. I certainly do, but then again I wrote it so I'm not sure I'm a reliable source :)_

**Chapter 70**

I was glad to see Jacob was still there when I woke up. It was a school day so we'd have to get up soon but I had woken up quite early so there's no rush. I turned on my stomach to look at Jacob's sleeping face but he was already awake.

"Good morning." He yawned.

So awake wasn't really the right term here. I suppressed the need to kiss him good morning because I remembered in time that there is such an annoying thing called morning breath. Jacob never mentioned something about it but you can never be too sure. I don't think he would have told me so if it were the case. Instead I decided to kiss the crook of his neck as a good morning.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked me while rubbing his hands over my naked back.

I nodded. I was glad that waking up next to Jacob naked wasn't all that awkward anymore. Jacob was about to open his mouth again until we both heard the front door open and someone rush up the stairs. I guess my dad's home. My eyes got big in fright. If he finds me and Jacob here like this, he'll explode. Luckily Jacob had faster reflexes than me and he silently slipped out of my bed and onto the floor. At least I was still smart enough to pull the covers up to my chin so my dad wouldn't realise I was naked. That would be kind of hard to explain.

The door swung open with a loud bang against my wall. My dad looked angry and also a little shocked that there was nothing to look at. I'm thinking he somehow suspected Jacob to be here.

"Hi dad." I smiled awkwardly.

"Why is Jacob's car in the drive way?" He demanded.

Oh, no. We had both completely forgotten about that since he usually just runs here. I had to come up with an excuse very fast, just not one Jacob would like.

"He left it there yesterday because he couldn't drive me to school today."

As if Jacob would ever voluntarily let me drive his car. He likes his Rabbit way too much to let me touch it.

"I'm working the night shift this week. You could have taken the car." My father said.

'Right, I forgot about it last night."

My dad looked like he still didn't believe me but since he couldn't find anything that would expose me as a liar, he let it go and left my room. As soon as he did, I turned toward Jacob on the floor and smiled.

"You do realise that every time I get in trouble with my father , you have something to do with it, right?"

"I'm sorry."

I hadn't meant for it to upset him but that's what it did anyway. I reached out my hand to touch his face and stroke his hair.

"That's okay." I smiled. "You'll notice the consequences soon enough since I'll have to drive your car to make sure my excuse stays solid."

"Like hell you're touching my car!"

"It's like you don't trust me." I pouted.

"With my life. Just not with my car. You're the worst driver in all of La Push."

I laughed because I'm hoping he's wrong about that. I got dressed really quickly because I'd have to leave for school soon. I had changed in the same room as Jacob and even though he was getting dressed himself, I noticed he kept throwing looks my way.

After an entire discussion with Jacob in which he claimed he'd never ever let me drive his precious car, I drove his car to school. Victory! Jacob waited in the parking lot for me, not to make sure that I arrived alright but to see if his car was still alive.

"Should I feel insulted that you hug the car before you hug me?" I smiled slightly when he finally seemed to notice that I was standing in the parking lot as well.

"Not at all." He smiled before kissing me on the lips. "I'm leaving again right before lunch but I'll be back to pick you up after school, okay?"

I nodded even though I wasn't happy about the fact that he wouldn't be here again. That would make my plan to get Jacob to graduate a little harder. But we would study together after school and I was going to make sure we wouldn't get too distracted.

The entire week was kind of boring. I hardly ever saw Jacob unless he drove me to school or to my house and when we studied together. Billy seemed to be pleased that I had taken it upon myself to get Jacob to open one of his books. Jacob seemed a little less pleased about it and always tried to kiss me so he wouldn't have to study anymore. Surprisingly enough I have enough restrain these days. Let him be the one to beg this time.

"You're supposed to be turning the pages of your book, not have your hands all over me." I gently pushed him away again for the third time in the past ten minutes.

"The book is boring." He pouted.

"You think I'm doing this for fun? It just has to get done, Jacob."

"But on a Friday night? We're supposed to be doing something fun. Instead we're studying." He muttered.

"I'll make you a deal. You finish this chapter and we'll do something fun afterward."

"What kind of fun?" He perked up.

"Any kind. Your choice."

"Anything?" He grinned brightly.

"Jacob! Your father is in the living room." I punched his arm.

"So? It's not like he'll actually hear us. I'll be really quiet. Can't say the same about you though." He teased.

I rolled my eyes at him. He's been like this the entire week. Not seeing me a lot has made him very... physical with me lately. Not that I'm complaining but even I have my limit.

"Just finish the chapter." I sighed before returning to my books as well.

Jacob suddenly worked a lot faster but I have the suspicion that he didn't really learn anything from it. But I'm tired as well of studying all the time and he was right. There are better things to do on a Friday night.

"So what do you want to do now?" I asked him after we closed our books.

"We could go to Emily's." He suggested so apparently the new shape-shifters aren't all that dangerous anymore to be around.

Even though that's pretty much where he spends all of his time, I agreed to go there. It's been a while since I'd seen Emily because I hadn't been allowed anywhere near her house. At least I still saw Kim, Jackie and unfortunately Zoe at school.

When we arrived at the house, there were a lot of other members of the pack present. Of course Sam was there since it's his house as well though everyone keeps referring to it as Emily's place. Brady and Scott were stuffing their faces in the kitchen with whatever delicious dish Emily had made this time. Jared and Kim were getting cosy on the couch and it made me wonder if they actually had a house to go to. It seems like those two are always here. Seth was trying to beat Paul at some kind of video game but failing miserably at it. Neither Nathan nor Thomas was here but I think that's the only reason Jacob didn't completely freak out when Scott talked to me.

"So you're Erin?" He asked me.

I nodded.

"I thought you'd be taller. In Jacob's mind it's like you have endless legs but you're kind of short." He looked me up and down.

"Of course I'm short compared to all of you. I have a normal size." I rolled my eyes which earned me a chuckle from the three shape-shifters at the table.

I talked for a while with Scott and Brady who are surprisingly good conversation partners despite our age difference. Jacob had left to talk to Sam a few minutes ago. If he trusts Scott enough to leave me practically alone with him, that must mean he isn't a threat to me.

"You're cool." Scott finally concluded.

"Oh, yeah? And why is that?" I smiled.

I found it a little strange that he could make such an assumption in the short time he had known me but to my happiness I saw Brady nod in agreement.

"Paul said so." Scott shrugged.

I almost fell from my seat when he said that. Paul most definitely did not think I was cool, pain in the butt, yes but cool? No way!

"He said what?" I choked out.

"Paul said you were the best imprint, aside from Emily of course but she makes the food so it really isn't a fair competition." Scott said.

The best imprint? Maybe he's not talking about Paul Lahote but then again, how nonexistent are those odds?

"It probably has something to do with the fact that you aren't constantly sucking face when you're here." Brady shrugged. "Of course Claire scores even better than you in that department but I don't know if that counts since she's only three years old."

I threw a glimpse at Paul who was sitting in the living room, still kicking Seth's ass at whatever game they were playing. He must not have heard our conversation because I'm sure he'd deny everything those two boys just told me.

I talked for a little while longer but I couldn't really focus on the conversation anymore. I thought Paul hated my guts, maybe not as much as he used to but I know I'm still not one of his favourite persons.

I eventually got up to find Jacob again since I should get home. My dad wouldn't be too happy if I didn't come home again. I saw him and Sam talking outside and it didn't feel right to interrupt. So instead I sat down on the couch occupied by Seth and Paul. Seth immediately dropped all his things and turned to me with a big smile. That can't be good.

"Hi Erin." He smiled in an almost creepy way.

"Euhm...Hi Seth. Why are you looking at me like you're hiding a chainsaw behind your back?" I cocked an eyebrow.

"I want to ask you a favour."

Oh, no! His favours always have something to do with Zoe Hurley.

"No." I told him firmly but it was no use because he pulled out his most desperate look.

"You don't even know what I'm going to ask you." He pouted.

I could see Paul roll his eyes at Seth's childish behaviour.

"I've got a pretty good idea it has something to do with your imprint and I've already done you plenty of favours by now. You've run out of them."

"It's just a tiny favour, please, please, please."'

"She said no, Seth." Paul grumbled.

I really am starting to wonder if what Scott said was the truth. Have I grown on Mr grumpy?

"I'm only asking you this because you know what it's like to be imprinted on." He ignored Paul. "I just need someone to talk to her before the bonfire so she'll be all relaxed when I tell her about the legends and imprinting."

"Ask someone else." I told him when I got up since Jacob had entered the house again.

"I can't ask anyone else. Emily will be busy with cooking and preparing everything. She'll need Kim's help with that and since Jackie wasn't a great help for you when you found out, I'm asking you. Please, Zoe trusts you." He pleaded me.

Seth was clinging on my arm to prevent me from leaving before I agreed to do what he wanted me to. I tried to shake him off but I'm not even close to being strong enough for that. Jacob noticed that I was unsuccessfully trying to get away from Seth and didn't seem to like him clinging to me like that.

"Let go of her." He told Seth while making his way over to us.

"Please, please, please!" Seth begged me while looking a bit scared at Jacob approaching us fast.

I just wanted him to let go off my arm and I wanted to do so before Jacob caused an entire scene. I could see Sam looking concerned at us all. He was probably worried as well that this little scene would cause someone's nose to be broken and I really don't want it to be mine.

"Fine." I sighed defeated.

"Yes! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much, Erin!" Seth yelled excited and hugged me as if he was trying to squish my intestines out.

Luckily Jacob had been standing really close by now and quickly pulled Seth off me.

"I told you to let go of her." He snapped at the younger shape-shifter but Seth didn't seem to care.

"So I was thinking you could come early to the bonfire and talk to her there. You don't have to say much, just make her realise that I'm the right guy for her."

So now I'm supposed to play matchmaker? This favour is going to be one hell of a pain in the butt.

"Fine, whatever. Let's just go home, Jacob." I sighed.

"I can't." Jacob said looking guilty.

"What do you mean you can't?" I turned to him.

"I have patrol." He sighed.

Again? I'm starting to wonder if all the other shape-shifters are on a strike or something because it seems to me like Jacob is the only one who's always on patrol.

"How am I supposed to get home?" I whined to him.

I could always take his car but something's telling me, he still doesn't want me to drive his precious vehicle.

"Someone else can drive you. Sam will bring you home." Jacob said, looking at his alpha.

Sam did not seem too pleased with that idea. It's understandable, he'll probably want to spend time with Emily right now. He has been running patrols like crazy as well lately. I didn't want to cut into his time with his imprint.

"That's okay. Paul will drive me."

I think I shocked pretty much everyone in that room. As far as they know me and Paul can hardly stand to be in the same room. He as well was looking at me like I'm crazy and there's no way in hell he'd do that.

"You owe me." I reminded him of the fact that I have been making his homework lately.

He grumbled once again but then pulled his car keys out of his pants and made his way over to the door.

"We're not talking during the entire ride." He muttered under his breath when he passed me.

I love it when I'm successful at making people do things they don't want to. I was about to follow Paul outside when Jacob stopped me.

"You can drive my car."

What? Jacob hates it when I even imply such a thing and he definitely wasn't pleased about it this morning. Why would he suggest it now?

"That's okay. I don't want to crash your beautiful car." I smiled before kissing him softly on the lips.

"I don't want you to get into the car with him."

"Don't worry. I've done that before." I tried to reassure him.

"I won't let you be alone with him." He said firmly.

Won't let me? Who does he think he is? That sentence made me kind of angry with him but I quickly realised he was just saying it because he's worried about my safety.

"I'll be fine." I told him before walking out of the house.

Paul was already sitting in his truck with the engine on. He seemed annoyed that I had made him wait for me. I guess he's not used to that. When I got into the car, he pulled out of Sam's drive way without saying another word. I turned around in my seat to wave at Jacob who was watching me from the porch. I think his protectiveness will give him a heart attack one day. I just hope it can't affect shape-shifters.

"Sorry that I made you wait but Jacob was making a big deal about you driving me home." I smiled at Paul who refused to take his eyes of the road or even acknowledge my presence. I was about to make that really hard on him. "He's just overreacting. He knows very well that you wouldn't do anything to me. You'd have the entire pack on your ass since you're not allowed to hurt an imprint. Speaking of imprints, what do you think about Zoe? Everybody knows I don't like her so I guess it's not a big surprise that I'm not too happy about tomorrow's bonfire. Then she'll know of the legends and she'll be at Emily's and with the pack all the time. I don't know if I'll be able to stay nice to her then. Not that I'm being really friendly to her right now, but you get what-"

"I told you we weren't talking." He grumbled.

"That was your suggestion, yes but I decided that would be a boring trip." I smiled sweetly at him, because I knew it would tick him off.

"I didn't remember you being so talkative." He sighed.

"Oh, I'm not but I figured you and I should get to know each other a little better." I continued cheerfully.

"I'll pass."

"Unfortunately that's not an option. So what are your hobbies, Paul?"

He muttered under his breath a lot of swearwords and I thought it was hilarious to get such a reaction out of him. This was fun.

"So you're a shape-shifter. Sounds cool."

"What the hell are you doing, Erin?" He suddenly turned to me with blazing eyes. "You don't like me, I don't like you. Let's stick to that."

"Let's not."

"What?"

"I don't hate you, I'm starting to think I don't even dislike you anymore because I know that deep down you're an okay guy." I smiled softly at him.

"Are you stupid?" He yelled in my face.

"According to some people I am but I'm serious right now. You're not even close to the person I thought you were and if you really got to know me, I think you might even learn to like me."

He scoffed.

"I think you and I will be great friends."

"Friends?"

"Yeah, you know, people who hang out together and have fun. People who stick up for each other. Friends." I explained to him.

"We're not friends." He grumbled while pulling up in front of my house.

"Yet." I told him.

"I don't want to be your friend."

"Of course you do, because I'm cool." I laughed at my own private joke.

"Says who?"

You.

"Everyone." I smiled before getting out of Paul's car. "See you around, buddy!"

Paul didn't say anything anymore before driving the hell away from me.


	71. Time is ticking away

_One of the readers told me that she or he would have preferred more descriptions and then it hit me! I never properly described Erin to you! That's a terrible thing of course and I hope I can make it up to you now. For the people who don't like the way I imagine Erin, feel free to have an image of your own in your head. Everybody's allowed his imagination :) _

_Erin had light brown hair but it definitely still belongs in the brown category. She has fringes, or bangs for the Americans among you. Her hair is straight and almost reaches her shoulder blades. Most of the time she wears it loose and rarely in a ponytail. Her face isn't completely round but something between round and oval. She has deep grey eyes. Her skin tone is nothing like those of the Quileutes, she is after all a pale face. But if you want to compare her to Bella, Erin's skin tone is definitely darker and healthier than hers. She measures 67 inches or 1,70 meters. She dresses in a girly tough style if you can all imagine what that is. She's a big fan of the leather jacket so she wears that a lot. I guess this is it, unless you still want the measurements for her ears or something :) If you still have a question or something, feel free to ask me. I'll happily respond. _

_I had hesitated for a moment if I should update again on Monday since I just uploaded a chapter three days ago. But I promised you updates on Monday and you all got me a 1000 reviews! Whoohoo! Thank you much for that. I want to thank the people who reviewed for the last chapter: __**ForeverTeamEdward13, wolfhappiness, Kuramalover2006, Wasipi, Sugar-Ice, Imprinting Magic, SundaySolis, bookfreak345, harrellgirl, The Wrider, Purp1eLady, Destined2RunWithTheWolves, kikikiki, Joey, Alenerien, MysteriousAndChaotic and SapphirexMoonlight. **__Of course my thank you goes out to everyone who ever reviewed and contributed to the 1000 reviews but that's just too many to sum up. You do have my eternal gratitude :) _

_I wrote this chapter in one hour so I was pretty excited about it. I hope you are as well. _

**Chapter 71**

I had spend the entire day in my house, doing pretty much nothing. I watched some television, send some text messages to Andy and Jacob but for the rest of the day, I did nothing productive. Mainly because my mind was with tonight's bonfire. I was thinking about what I'd say to Zoe. So far I've come up with this: 'So, Zoe... You and Seth, huh?' That's it! What the hell was I supposed to say to a girl I can't stand about imprinting without actually telling her about imprinting?

The bonfire would start at 8 o'clock but I decided to go early so that I could still help Emily with a few things and have that horrible talk with Zoe. I took a shower a little after 7 o'clock and was ready to leave at 7:26 when my doorbell suddenly rang. I hadn't been expecting anyone but I guess Jacob had felt the need to come and pick me up. As if I couldn't drive my own car. My dad's sleeping since he only came home from work at 5 am.

I was putting on my jacket as the final touch when I opened the door. I was met with a bunch of flowers. Flowers are nice but Jacob knows damn well I don't like all that sappy stuff. Matter of fact he never brought me flowers before, why start now?

"Hello Erin." A smooth voice said.

What the hell was Bill Kholden doing on my doorstep with a bunch of flowers and a fancy suit on? I just gaped at him, not understanding at all why he was here.

"You look beautiful as always but I think you should chance into something a bit more..." He looked me up and down. "... acceptable."

Excuse me!

"What are you doing here?" I finally asked him.

"I've come to pick you up of course." He smiled at me as if I was a little kid who just asked the most ridiculous question in the world.

Was he going to the bonfire as well? Because I was convinced this one was only for the pack.

"Pick me up for what?" I asked him suspiciously.

"Our date of course."

Our what? Date? What date? I never agreed to go on a date with him?

"What are you talking about? I never said I'd go on a date with you."

"You didn't have to. I told you we'd go on a date on Saturday and that I'd pick you up. So here I am."

"I didn't say yes." I got angry at this ridiculously oblivious guy.

"Because I didn't ask you, I told you. Girls like it when you take control." He winked at me.

How daft can you be? I told him I wouldn't go out with him and he had someone how translated that in his head to me wanting him to take control and make such a decision for me.

"What kind of girls would that be?"

I can't imagine most girls liking a guy to suddenly show up on their doorstep claiming they were going on a date because he wants it so. Don't girls usually get a say in this? I was still under the assumption you needed two people to agree on a date.

"Pretty girls like you." He winked again.

I think I might hurl.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you." I told him, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "But I've already made plans."

"You planned another date at the same time as the one with me? That's not really smart of you."

"It's not a date. I'm hanging out with my friends." I told him annoyed.

"That settles it then, you'll go out with me and spend time with your friends tomorrow. You can't go on a date on a Sunday. I'll just wait downstairs while you get changed." He told me before getting in my house and making himself comfortable in the living room.

"What are you doing?"

"Waiting for you to put something fancy on but don't take too long. I've made plans." He smiles.

"I'm not going on a date with you!" I snapped.

"Of course you are. You don't have another date."

"I do have a boyfriend!"

Surely that would make him go away, right? What kind of guy goes after a girl who's already dating someone else? No one.

"Right, Jacob Black. We've already talked about this, Erin. He's not your kind of guy. You'll be way better off with me." He smiled.

"Get out of my house!" I yelled, completely forgetting about my father trying to sleep upstairs.

"That's not very nice, Erin. I've gone through a lot of preparations for this date. It would be very rude of you not to come with me." He told me coldly, all the traces of a smile gone.

Before I could say anything else, my phone rang. I had never been so grateful for it. I quickly picked it up so I didn't have to talk to the psycho in front of me anymore.

"Erin, it's already over 8, where are you? Seth's freaking out." Jackie's voice came from the other side of the line.

"I'm sorry, I've got a little caught up." I told her, not feeling like explaining to her right now why Bill Kholden was sitting in my living room with a bunch of flowers for me.

"Will you be here soon because Seth is bend on you having a conversation with Zoe and Billy wants to start telling the legends soon. And I'm not even mentioning how worried Jacob is once he realised you weren't here yet."

"I'm fine. I'll be there soon." I reassured her.

"Okay, just hurry up." She told me before hanging up.

"Was that your friend?" Kholden asked me.

He was suddenly standing next to me and I didn't like it one bit. I quickly took a step back to put more distance between us.

"Jackie, right?"

I nodded. Now that his oblivious smile had left his face, he suddenly looked a lot more dangerous than before.

"Well, I guess it can't be helped. It was really stupid of you to make plans on the same day as our date but I don't want you to let down your friends."

I almost sighed in relief. I had been afraid I wouldn't be able to talk the crazy idea of 'our date' out of his head.

"I hope you'll have fun tonight." He suddenly smiled again. "But you'll sit with me at lunch on Monday."

And then he left. The last part of our conversation had really spooked me and I needed a moment to calm my fast beating heart. I noticed he had left his flowers on the table. I did not want them. I already don't like getting flowers and especially if they're not from Jacob. So I opened the bin and threw them away.

I felt really unsafe all of the sudden. For all I knew Bill Kholden could be hiding in the bushes, ready to follow me once he saw where I was going. The solution to that came from my back yard. I took Ash off his leash and led him to my car. He was coming with me tonight. I might not like the dog but he's the closest thing I've got for protection right now. I must sound like a crazy woman but I don't care.

It took me quite some time to get Ash to climb in the back of the car but eventually I was able to leave for First Beach. By the time I got there, everyone was already starting to find a place to sit around the fire so they could listen to Billy telling the legends. When I got out of the car, I was greeted by Jackie.

"There you are. Finally! I thought you wouldn't get here any- Why is Ash sitting in your car?"

I figured he could be my excuse.

"He's sick. I didn't want to leave him behind all by himself. He's been really depressed ever since Bryan left." I told a not total lie.

"Oh." Was all she said before steering me to the fire.

I quickly spotted Jacob sitting close to his father. I took Ash's leash and walked over to the free spot next to Jacob.

"Sorry I'm late." I whispered to him.

"That's okay." He smiled warmly at me. "But I'm afraid you might have pissed off Seth."

I did. Seth was sitting next to Zoe, squirming in his seat as if he was about to pee his pants. The moment he saw me sitting next to Jacob, he glared at me. So I guess he was upset I didn't talk to Zoe before Billy started telling the legends.

"I'll make it up to him." I shrugged.

"How come you're late?" He asked me.

Lying to Jackie was easy but I didn't want to feed him lies so I didn't tell him the same thing I told Jackie.

"It was nothing. Just something I still had to deal with." I smiled at him.

"Everything okay?" He asked me worried.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Now that creepy Kholden isn't in my house anymore.

"You brought Ash?" He finally noticed the big dog sitting next to me.

"He looked lonely." I shrugged.

Jacob just laughed and pulled me into his side. Billy telling us the legends was really interesting, just like the last time. I felt once again as if I was reliving it all myself. Zoe was staring in awe as well at Billy. I was wondering if she'd ever heard the legends before. Probably not, she only moved to the reservation a few months ago.

By the time Billy was done, I was really tired. The warmth of the fire and Jacob's body close to mine was lulling me to sleep. I yawned again before snuggling a little closer to Jacob who wrapped his arms around me.

"You're tired." He stated.

There was no point denying it. I could barely keep my eyes open. I hadn't been able to sleep well last night, I kept thinking about what I would say to Zoe. Apparently I should have been more worried about what to say to Kholden.

"I'll take you home." Jacob said.

"What? No! I still want to see what happens." I told him while looking at Zoe and Seth.

"He's not going to tell her in front of the entire pack." Jacob told me.

"Why not?"

"Would you have liked it if I had done that?" He cocked an eyebrow.

"No, phasing in front of me unannounced was way better." I smiled slightly.

He seemed to realise I was just teasing him about it because it didn't upset him.

"Fine, we'll stay a little longer but you're not going to see anything." Jacob sighed once I made it clear I wasn't moving.

"I'll bet you five bucks she'll run away." It looked up at him.

"You can't make a bet about such a thing." Jacob shook his head at me.

"I'll take that bet." Thomas voice suddenly came from my left.

"Thomas!"

I hadn't seen him since he phased and boy, being a shape-shifter had just been as kind on his body as it had been on all the others. I couldn't help but sweep my eyes over him. He used to be quite the attractive guy before but now he just looked like a sex god.

"You like what you see?" He grinned once he noticed I was taking in his appearances.

His little comment made Jacob tense up a little and let out a small growl. As if he had anything to worry about. Thomas might look great but Jacob is gorgeous!

"Were your muscles always that big?" I asked him, really just to get a kick out of Jacob's jealousy.

"That's not the only thing that grew." He grinned and winked at me again.

This time Jacob's growl was much louder than before and by the look on Thomas' face I'd say Jacob's trying to glare him to death.

"Relax, I was talking about my height. I'm like a giant nowadays and you haven't even seen me as a wolf. I'm huge!" He smiled.

I was glad to see Thomas was okay with being a shape-shifter. Nathan on the other hand had really been suffering because of it. He hated it.

"I'm sure you're not bigger than Sam." I told him, remembering that Sam was the tallest one in the pack because he's alpha.

"Yeah, but I'm a lot more handsome than him. I have a dark grey fur, wanna see?" He asked me excitedly.

Jacob almost completely lost it when Thomas just suggested to phase in front of me.

"No thanks, I'm more of a russet kind of girl." I smiled, remembering very well what the colour of Jacob's fur is.

I didn't have to look at Jacob to know that he was very pleased right now. Thomas just shrugged.

"But how about that bet? I'll bet you five bucks she'll be over the roof about imprinting."

"Deal." I smiled and shook Thomas' hand. This was in the bag!

"You still shouldn't be placing bets about something like that." Jacob shook his head once Thomas left to get something to eat.

"Why not? Whether or not we bet money on it, she'll freak out. I might as well gain a little cash out of it."

"How can you be so sure about it?" He asked me.

"None of the imprints were okay with it at first. That's a natural reaction. I might not know Zoe that well and Seth totally deserves to be happy, but that's just one of the things in life you can be sure about."

Jacob had been right. Seth didn't tell her in front of us. When people slowly started leaving, he steered her away from the pack and they went for a walk together.

"Damn." I sighed.

"Does that mean we can finally go home?"Jacob asked me hopefully.

"But nothing happened yet." I pouted.

"And nothing will. She either freaks out and runs off or is happy about it and hugs the life out of Seth. Either way they're not coming back here."

I eventually gave in. Not because he was right, but because I was so tired I think Jacob might have to carry me up the stairs. We were walking back to my car when Emily called me back.

"Hey, Erin. I didn't see you before Billy started telling the legends so I didn't get the chance to tell you yet."

"Tell me what?"

"We're going to Port Angeles tomorrow to fit some bridesmaid dresses and as a bridesmaid, your presence is mandatory." She smiled enthusiastically at me.

Even though I don't like such a thing as a bridesmaid's dress fitting, I was excited about the upcoming wedding. I smiled at Emily telling I'd be at her house tomorrow to leave for Port Angeles. I was going to walk to the car again when Emily suddenly asked me if I wasn't forgetting something.

"Euh...no? Am I?"

Emily just smiled and shook her head. She pointed to the large dog sitting by the side of the fire. Oh, crap! I almost forgot Ash here. That would have been really irresponsible of me. If Bryan ever found out... But then again, maybe I'll never see him again. Before I could let gloomy thoughts creep into my head again, I quickly ran to Ash who was staring at the little girl in front of him. Claire was staring right back at him as if he was the most fascinating thing in the world.

"Is he your doggie?" The little girl asked me in awe when I approached them.

"Yes, he is." I smiled at her.

"Can I touch him?" She whispered to me as if she had just confided her biggest secret in me.

"Sure."

She smiled brightly and reached out her hand to touch Ash but before she could feel his fur, her hand was stopped. When she and I looked up at the person who had stopped her, we looked at a really freaked out Quil.

"What are you doing, Claire? You can't touch animals you don't know!" He didn't sound angry, he just sounded really, really worried and it made me realise that Quil concern was a degree worse than Jacob concern.

"But I do know him! He's Ewin's doggie." She looked at him with big eyes, not understanding why Quil wouldn't let her touch the dog.

"He could be dangerous." Quil told her firmly.

"He's harmless." I told him.

I did understand why he was concerned. He didn't know Ash and for all he knew it could be the most vicious dog on the planet. Ash might be big for a dog and runs off all the time but he's really friendly and wouldn't hurt a fly.

"See? Hamwess." Claire pointed at the dog again.

The little girl had a very stubborn mind and whenever Emily told her she couldn't do something, she did it anyway. But it was different with Quil. She always seemed to want his permission before she did anything. I guess she didn't want to do anything her Quil wouldn't approve of. In that way their imprint is the same as the others. Nobody wants to upset their wolf.

"Can I touch it?" She asked him now.

Quil still didn't seem to like the idea of her touching Ash but she was looking at him with big pleading eyes that he just couldn't refuse. This girl could learn me some tricks.

"If he so much as barks at her.." Quil threatened me but I just rolled my eyes at him.

Claire squealed out of happiness that she could finally touch the dog. I don't know why this was so important to her but I'm sure a lot of things seemed important to me as well when I was three years old. She extended her hand again and stroke his fur. A little giggle escaped her mouth that made Quil's worried face light up.

"See? Harmless." I repeated Claire's words to him, he just ignored me.

"He's a pwetty doggie." She smiled at me while still stroking his fur. "Pwetiest doggie ever!"

Quil's face fell as soon as she said those last words. Seriously? He's upset because she called Ash the prettiest dog ever? But having an imprint as young as Claire means that the only thing Quil has to thrive on is the fact that she things he's the most amazing thing in this world. And that included being the prettiest wolf/ dog to her.

"I think Quil's a pretty dog as well." I told her.

"Quil is a wolf." She frowned as if she didn't understand why I was referring to Quil as a dog.

"Yes, but a handsome one, right?"

She had stopped stroking Ash now and looked at me and Quil.

"Quil is the pwetiest wolfie in the whole wide world!" She squealed with a smile on her lips.

Any guy would have felt insulted if they were called pretty but not Quil. He looked at Claire as if she'd just given him the greatest compliment ever. I'm so glad I'm not a three year old anymore. Jacob would be going through hell because I'm sure I didn't throw such compliments around when I was a little girl either.

I eventually took Ash's leash and walked back to my car where Jacob had been waiting the entire time.

"What took you so long?"

"Quil was having a fit because Claire wanted to pet Ash." I shrugged. "And then he had a little heart attack when she called Ash the prettiest dog in the world instead of him." I smiled.

"I'm so glad you're not a three year old." He sighed.

Funny, I was just thinking the same thing. We got into the car with Jacob behind the steering wheel of course. He won't even let me drive my own car.

"The wedding's exciting though. I had kind of forgotten about it. Do you know what date they picked? I've forgotten that as well."

"Second of August." He responded shortly.

When I looked at Jacob who was staring at the road in front of him, I realised something was off. He had been fine just a few minutes ago but now he looked as if he was suddenly carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. That is kind of what he's doing but he never really looked like it.

"What's wrong?" I asked him softly while gently touching his arm.

"I was thinking about the wedding." He sighed.

"And that made you sad?" I got confused.

"I just hope we'll make it to it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Alice Cullen had a vision." He sighed. "She saw when the Volturi is coming to Forks."

"When?" I whispered.

"The first rainy day of August."

I felt like I had just been hit with a bomb. Everything had been simple before and then suddenly, BAM! We were back to the battle with the vampire royalties. I turned away from Jacob again and we both stared at the road in silence.

August was in three months and with the climate of La Push and Forks, chances of the first rainy day in August being one of the first days in August is really big. We only had three months left?


	72. Could I?

_Thank you __**Mebs2010, ForeverTeamEdward13, kikikiki, Lorelis, Alaina08, embleu44, Sugar-Ice, harrellgirl, SundaySolis, wolfhappiness, bookfreak345, brneyez, Destined2RunWithTheWolves, rockVelmont666, hotaru, Rio lover and Alenerien **__for all their lovely reviews. It also nice whenever someone new starts reading my story. I'm glad the 70 chapters don't discourage people to start reading my story. :)_

_Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Bryan in the slightest. There are a few references to him in this chapter but we'll hear more about what's going on with him soon. I just need Erin to move on without her brother for now. _

**Chapter 72**

I couldn't sleep last night. All I could think about was the vision one of the Cullens had. The only thing that could calm me down was to remember myself of the fact that Jacob wouldn't be in that battle. He promised me. But still, I had no idea what was going to happen to the pack and over the last few months, I kind of got attached to them. Sure, most of the time they were annoying as hell but they always took care of each other, they took care of me. I couldn't stand the idea of anyone of them getting hurt, even Collin who completely brought this on himself.

We went shopping for bridesmaids' dresses the next day. I couldn't completely enjoy the fitting with all the girls getting excited over the wedding when I knew Jacob didn't think Sam would actually make it to the wedding. Or what if they got married and then something happened to Sam? She'd be a widow so soon. I shouldn't think so negative about it all but I just couldn't help it.

"It really is the right colour for the dresses. You all look so great in it." Emily smiled at all of us.

She had finally settled for a dark purple as the colour for all the bridesmaids' dresses. She was right though, it looked great on Kim and Jackie's dark skin but I didn't look too bad in it either. We had all been here for over two hours and the excitement was starting to wear off.

"So we're done here?" I asked her since we had already decided on the shape of the dress half an hour ago.

"Almost. I still want to show you my dress." Emily smiled before entering the fitting room herself.

None of us had seen her dress yet. She went looking for it a few weeks ago with her mother so we had no idea what it looked like.

"Have you heard from Bryan yet?" Jackie asked me while we were waiting for Emily to come out in her wedding gown.

"No, nothing." I sighed.

"Have you tried to call him yet? Maybe he'll pick up when he knows you're trying to contact him."

"You really think I haven't thought about that yet? I call him every day but he won't pick up." I sighed. I really didn't want to talk about this anymore.

Kim seemed to notice that I was getting annoyed with the topic Jackie had chosen and I was grateful for her changing it.

"So has anyone of you heard from Zoe yet?"

We both shook our heads. After Seth had told Zoe last night, she apparently didn't ran off like I had predicted. So I guess I owe Thomas five bucks now. Let's just hope he spontaneously forgot about it. She didn't believe it at first but when Seth phased to show her, she apparently took it surprisingly well, at least that's what he told us this morning.

"Okay, are you guys ready?" Emily called from the fitting room.

When we told her that we were, she came out. Emily is a beautiful woman but with that dress on she was even more breathtaking. The gown was tight around her chest but flowed down beautifully to the ground. She looked amazing.

"Wauw, Emily. You look... wauw." Kim told her.

"You like it?" She spun around in front of the mirror.

"Sam's not going to be able to look away the entire day." I smiled at her.

She was absolutely beaming right now.

"I can't wait to see you on your wedding day." Jackie said.

"I can't wait to have my own wedding day." Kim sighed.

And that's when they all started talking about their future wedding day, even Jackie and she's not even having sex with Embry as far as I know. Thinking about the future spooks me. I do know that I'll spend my entire life with Jacob and I'm happy about that but I still get cold feet whenever I think about our lives ahead of us.

Soon after that, we drove back to La Push and I spend the rest of the day with my wolf.

Jacob drove me to school the next day and actually stayed this time. He told me that Thomas was coming back to school today. Scott would come back soon as well, Nathan however was still having a lot of issues with control so he had no idea when he'd be allowed back. As soon as Jacob spotted Thomas in the parking lot, he quickly said goodbye to me and ran up to him. He probably was going to stay by his side the entire day to make sure he didn't phase in the hallways or something like that.

"Ouch, burn! You're boyfriend just ditched you for another guy." Andy laughed from behind me.

"Haha." I responded sarcastically.

Me and Andy walked to school together. Jacob seemed busy and Jackie was once again nowhere to be found.

"So how have you been lately?" Andy asked me.

I hadn't talked to Andy a lot either lately but we've both been busy. He's been having some trouble with his girlfriend who is now no longer his girlfriend because she turned out to be ashamed to show him to her friends because he's Quileute. She's so not worthy of him.

"Bryan's gone." I told him, realising that I didn't know if Andy was aware of it.

"I know, I heard. I'm so sorry."

"He'll be back. At least that's what Jacob thinks." I shrugged.

"He's right. Bryan will be back."

"I hope he will." I sighed.

The rest of the morning passed slowly but for once I was happy to be in school. All the Math and Science took my mind of everything I had been worrying about. I was still glad when lunch was finally there though. Unfortunately I couldn't see anyone of the pack. Where were they? I wasn't really early so I was surprised that none of them were here. That can't be good, right?

I had spotted Jackie and Andy sitting in the back of the cafeteria, maybe she would know where they were. I was about to make my way over to them when a hand pulled me down to sit at the table I just passed.

"Hey Erin, I was afraid you wouldn't make it." Bill Kholden smiled at me.

"Make it to what?" I asked him confused.

"To lunch of course. We were going to have lunch together, remember?"

I did recall him telling me he wanted me to sit with him during lunch on Monday but I had never agreed to it. I tried to get up and get away from this table but Kholden had a pretty firm grip on my arm and wouldn't let me.

"Will you let go of me?" I hissed.

"If you stay seated I will. Now how was your day, darling?" He smiled again.

This guy was unbelievable and his delusional mind is really starting to creep me out. I noticed Andy and Jackie looking strangely at me sitting next to Kholden, they didn't even know I knew him or that I really didn't want to be around him.

"I was actually going to sit over there." I pointed towards Andy and Jackie's table.

"That won't do. You already spend the entire weekend with your friends, I'll start feeling neglected."

Why was he acting like my whiny girlfriend? We're not in a relationship!

"I have to go."

I tried to get up once again but he wouldn't release my arm and started putting quite some pressure on it.

"Auw, stop it. You're hurting me." I told him but he wasn't fazed at all.

"She told you to let go of her." A grumble came from behind me.

Normally I would have expected Jacob to be the one coming to my rescue but I definitely didn't recognise the voice as his. Who knew Paul would one day come to my rescue?

"Me and Erin are just talking, Lahote. Leave us alone."

"Is that true?" He looked at me.

"Everything's fine."

I forced a smile at him but at least his interference had caused Kholden to let go of my arm. I quickly got away from that table without giving him another look.

"What was that about?" Paul asked me since he had followed me to my friends' table.

"Nothing." I muttered.

"It certainly didn't look like nothing. The expression on your face made it pretty clear that you didn't like him around you and that grip he had on your arm can't have been comfortable." He pointed out.

"Just drop it." I sighed.

"Has this guy been bothering you?" He ignored me.

I turned around to tell him to stay out of it. But then I figured that it wouldn't be such a bad idea to tell Paul the truth. The reason I hadn't told someone yet was because I didn't want Jacob to know and get all worried again. But Paul wouldn't tell Jacob because he doesn't feel the need to share everything with the pack. I think he might keep his mouth shut if I asked him to. Let's see if I'm right.

"Honestly, yes. He has been bothering me lately but I don't want Jacob to know."

"What do you mean when you say he's been bothering you?"

"He put this crazy idea in his head that he and I should date. The fact that I'm already dating Jacob or really don't like him, doesn't seem to matter to him."

"Looks like you've got yourself a psycho stalker." But he didn't grin with it.

Don't I know it! Bill Kholden is kind of starting to freak me out, a lot and I have no idea how far he'll go in his fantasy of him and me. Not that I can't take care of myself. I slashed open the face of a shape-shifter with one of my kitchen knives. How hard can a normal human guy be?

"You won't tell Jacob, right?" I asked him.

"No." He said. "But if this gets out of hand, I will."

"Bill Kholden is not a threat to me." I assured him.

Paul sat down at the table where the pack normally sits all by himself because the others weren't here. I'm sure he doesn't mind sitting alone but I felt like I should keep him company. So instead of walking to Andy and Jackie like I had originally intended, I sat down in front of him.

"Is there something you still want?" He cocked his eyebrow at me.

"I was wondering where the others were."

"They went to the Cullens to discuss some things."

"What things?" I asked him.

"Things that are none of your business." He grumbled.

"Why aren't you there?"

"Because they all refused to let their precious imprints unprotected." He spat.

And they thought we'd all be much safer with Paul? That can't possibly have been Jacob's idea. He won't even let me get in the same car as him.

"Why won't you just tell me about it? Jacob will tell me anyway." I reasoned.

"No, he won't." Paul said.

Yes, he would. I happen to be very good at pouting for as long as I have to until I get what I want from Jacob. He would tell me, even if I had to force him to.

"He will once I ask him nicely." I told Paul confidently.

"He can't tell you because he doesn't know."

"Jacob is beta." I told him confused, not understanding why he wouldn't know something concerning the Cullens.

"Yes, but he's also not present during the battle against the Volturi so there wasn't much use for him to be there."

"Then where is Jacob?"

He wasn't in school, that's for sure. If he had been here, he would be sitting next to me by now and since he's not, it's safe to assume he's not present at La Push High, ...again.

"Thomas lost control, Jacob's with him."

"Just because Jacob isn't going to fight in that battle, it doesn't mean he shouldn't be aware of what's going on." I came back to the previous subject.

"It was about what to do during the battle when someone of us gets hurt, okay! Jacob didn't want to be present because it would just remind him of the fact that he's failing the pack by not being there at the battle." He snapped at me, once again with blazing eyes.

"Jacob doesn't want to be there." I told him firmly.

"Do you think any of us want to be there? Do you think we want to die for the leeches? No! But we don't have choice and the fact that Jacob, our beta, won't be there is definitely going to weaken us."

"I can't..."

I was going to say that I couldn't let Jacob leave me like that, knowing there was a chance he wouldn't come back. I couldn't do that. But was it okay letting the pack go to that battle, knowing that their chances were lower now that I had asked Jacob not to fight? The answer's yes. I could.

"You're selfish, Erin. Always have been but asking Jacob that was that worst." He spat in my face before getting up and storming out of the cafeteria.

I do feel bad about what I asked Jacob but I couldn't take it back, I wouldn't. The idea of Jacob risking his life like that, tears me up inside. What if he got hurt? What if he didn't come back? The thought alone had the ability to bring tears to my eyes. The reality of it would kill me. I couldn't let him go, no matter what the consequences would be for the pack.

_Did you like it?..._

_Oh, I have a question for you. Erin will be graduating soon so she'll have to take her finals or something. But I'm not familiar with the American school system. I want that part of my story to be correct so could someone maybe explain the system properly to me? It would mean a lot. Thanks. _


	73. What really happened

_A big thank you to all the people who reviewed: __**ForeverTeamEdward13, Mythical Words, kikikiki, Alaina08, Ella710, SundaySolis, Destined2RunWithTheWolves, Rio lover, werewolf lover8, Mebs2010, Sugar-Ice, Alenerien and MysteriousAndChaotic. **__And also to all the people who answered my question about the American school system. Thanks for that. _

_It was very entertaining to see who wanted Jacob to fight and who didn't. Some people agreed with Paul, others with Erin. I promise you there will still be some discussing about it in my story as well but for now I've got another lose end to tie..._

**Chapter 73**

The end of May was nearing which meant so was graduation and even though I had been looking forward to it just a few weeks ago, I no longer was. I couldn't enjoy the final moment at my high school because all I could think of was August, more precisely the first rainy day of it. I had replayed Paul's words a bunch of times in my head but it didn't change my opinion. Jacob was not fighting with them.

It was the 28th of May which meant it had been 2 weeks 4 days and 22 hours since my brother had left and every hour more meant the smaller the chance he'd actually get back. I hadn't talked about it anymore with anyone, not even Jacob though he's made it very clear he's here for me. I know that. Jacob is always here, I just wish I could say the same thing about Bryan. Eliza tried to talk to me in the hallway a few days ago, tried to stutter out an excuse as to why she helped my brother find the woman who gave up her rights as a mother. If Andy hadn't steered me away I might have given her a slap in the face as well and her sister can confirm that I can throw a mean punch.

Which brings me back to another topic: my dad. We both tried so hard to avoid talking about Bryan and the reason why he left but it kept hanging over us like a dark cloud, waiting for it to pour down on us. I still didn't want to talk about it but I had some questions for my dad and I didn't know if I could keep silent anymore.

My dad was sitting in the living room, reading his paper when I decided to end the silence. I needed to know, I needed so many answers to so many questions and he was the only one who could give them to me. I certainly didn't expect to hear it from her.

"Dad?" I asked him, standing still in the doorway.

He made a little sound at the back of his throat to indicate that he had heard me but he didn't look up.

"Dad, I have to talk to you."

Now he looked up at me. It took a few seconds to put down his paper but once he did, he motioned for me to sit down in front of him.

"What do you want to talk about?" He asked me but the look in his eyes told me that he knew exactly what I wanted to discuss.

"I want... to talk about...her." I said slowly.

He didn't seem very surprised so he must have expected it.

"What do you want to know?" He sighed.

"Everything. I want to know why you only divorced her three years after she left. I want to know why she gave up her rights as our mother. I want to know why you let or maybe even asked her to do that. I want to know if you knew of her new husband and child. I want to know why she left in the first place and I want to know why she never came back for me." I blurted out.

"Okay." He nodded. "Firstly, I never had the intention to divorce her. I still loved her very much and a part of me always will. I had hoped that she would eventually come back home after a while but six years ago she got back in contact with me and asked for a divorce. She's the mother of my children, Erin. I didn't want to get a divorce and that's what I told her. She tried about everything to get me to agree, she made her sister call me every single day, she asked her lawyer to dig up dirt on me which she didn't find but eventually she found the only thing that would ever make me agree to the divorce."

"Which was?" I whispered.

"You. You and Bryan. She threatened to file for full custody of you two. She had a pretty strong case because she's the mother and she claimed to have tried to get in contact with both of you but that I didn't let her."

"Did she?" I asked him.

I could help but think about that possibility. Maybe there was some secret box hidden in the basement containing all the cards she send us over the years for every birthday, Christmas or whenever she just missed us.

"Not once." My dad told me. "You and Bryan didn't do anything that made her leave, Erin. I need you to know that. She's crazy for walking away of the best that ever happened to her and me."

So much for that fantasy.

"And then you gave her the divorce?"

"I needed to move on with my life and realise she wouldn't come back. I had already lost my wife, I wasn't going to let her take my children. I gave her the divorce but only if she gave up her rights as your mother. That way she could never try such a thing again."

"She signed?"

He nodded. I suddenly had this image in my head of her with an eager smile on her face when she realised that all she had to do was give up her rights as a mother to get her desired divorce. I bet she didn't have to think twice about signing it.

"Did you know? That she got remarried?"

"She never told me the reason she suddenly wanted the divorce but I always suspected that it was to get married again."

"And the child?" My voice wavered a little thinking of the way she might have replaced me.

"No, I didn't know of her."

He looked sad. He was probably wondering why she had chosen to stay with that man and have a child with him when she already had a family before. I was asking myself the same thing. We sat in silence for a while until I dared to ask the question that I had always been wondering about in the back of my head but only now craved the answer like nothing else.

"Why did she leave?" I asked softly.

"I don't know." He sighed. "All I know is that I couldn't make her happy. I wanted to give her the world but La Push was never the glamorous life she had pictured for herself. Nothing is worse than having the woman you love resent you. She wasn't cut out to play the role of housewife and maybe I am to blame for everything for trying to change her into something that she wasn't."

I still wanted to ask him why she never came back for us but I could answer that question for myself. Because she just didn't care. Her life here had been like a prison to her and we had been her guards. Who wants to see their guards again once they've escaped?

I got up and grabbed my jacket and the car keys. I had told Jacob that I'd meet up with him today to study again because finals were getting pretty close. I don't think I'll be studying today but I still want to go to Jacob. My dad stayed seated in the living room, staring out in front of him with that hurt look still on his face.

"It wouldn't have mattered." I turned back towards him. "If there had been a box with every card she ever send. A card doesn't make up for all the times she wasn't there. When I went to high school, when I broke my arm or when I learned how to drive. You were there." I smiled.

He smiled back. I quickly hugged him goodbye and then closed the door behind me. It really wouldn't have mattered in the way I looked at her but it would have been great, knowing she had at least thought about me from time to time.

I drove all the way to Jacob's house but his car wasn't in the driveway. I went to ring the doorbell but no one answered. Maybe I should have made sure that he was home before I left early. Well, I wasn't going back home before I saw Jacob. It was starting to get pretty warm outside these days but I saw some dark clouds heading this way and I had no intention of getting wet. Luckily for me the shed at the back of the yard was never properly closed so I easily slipped in.

I hadn't been here in a while but everything was just like I remembered it. The old car that has been here forever was still in the middle of the space and the bike that he was so proud of stood against the wall all shiny and taken care of. This place felt like home to me and the tools have absolutely nothing to do with that. The shed is just so typically Jacob that I can almost smell him here.

I sat down on the hood of the old car, hoping that it could hold me because I did not want to sit on the dirty floor. I heard a car pull up but didn't went outside to see. Jacob would see my car and probably come looking for me here.

"Erin?" I could hear him approaching the shed.

"In here." I called out.

A few seconds later Jacob opened the door to the shed with a big smile on his face. He quickly strode over to where I was sitting and pulled me into a warm hug. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

"How come you're early?" He asked me once he pulled away a little.

"I didn't feel like staying any longer at home." I shrugged simply.

"Why? What happened?" He suddenly frowned.

I assured him that it wasn't anything bad. I told him everything my dad had just told me because it had mattered to me and everything that's important to me, I want to share with Jacob.

"But let's talk about something else. Why are you so happy all of the sudden? I'm definitely not complaining but it's been kind of rare."

"I have a secret." He grinned.

"Which you'll tell me?" I smiled sweetly.

"It's not my secret."

"But you'll still tell me, right?" I asked him with a pout on my mouth.

"You can't tell anyone." He sighed, giving in. I nodded eagerly. "Especially Kim."

"Why? Is it Jared's secret?"

He nodded but that didn't make much sense to me. It's really hard to keep secrets from your imprint and I'm not even sure Jared ever tried to keep one from Kim.

"What is it?"

"He's going to propose to her." Jacob smiled.

"What?" I shouted.

He wanted to do what? Is he crazy? They're way too young to get married. They haven't even graduated yet!

"Why aren't you exited over this?" Jacob frowned.

"Because they can't get married! They're eighteen!" I practically screamed.

"I didn't say they were going to get married. He's going to propose to her, it will be a long time before they'll actually get married."

"Then why pop the question anyway?"

"Because they're moving forward in their relationship." He gave me a strange look.

"Oh no," I pointed a finger at him. "If you think about proposing to me before I'm at least 24, I'll castrate you."

"Don't worry, I know you're not ready for such a thing."

"And he thinks Kim is?"

"She is. You don't know her as well as Jared does."

This was crazy. Who proposes to his girlfriend when they're not even graduated yet? I eventually dropped the subject because it put Jacob in a weird mood. Studying didn't went very well so I decided to return home earlier than expected. He needed to catch up on some sleep anyway.

When I got home, my dad was eating dinner with all his stuff packed for work.

"You aren't working today." I frowned.

"I am now. I took the day off on Monday so I'm taking on the Sunday night shift."

"Why did you take the day off tomorrow?" I asked him.

He sighed as if the reason was something I didn't want to know.

"I'm going to the school, to talk to the principal."

"Am I in trouble?"

"No, not at all. I'm going to talk to him about what to do about Bryan's situation."

"What about it?"

"The end of the year is nearing and he won't be here to take his tests." My dad sighed.

"You don't know that, he could be back by then!"

My dad looked at me as if he no longer believed that.

"He could!" I shouted.

"He's been gone for over two weeks, Erin. It only takes 6 hours to get there, which also means six hours back. He should have been back after three days tops. It's been two weeks. Whatever happened, Bryan apparently decided to stay in Portland. He's not coming back."

I could feel the tears well up into my eyes but this time I allowed them to fall. I had refused to cry over this before because I didn't want to give her the satisfaction that she made me cry but I wasn't crying over her. I was crying because my dad was right and my brother will not come back.


	74. Missing

_Thank you __**ForeverTeamEdward13, kikikiki, Destined2RunWithTheWolves, wolfhappiness, Kyori Uchiha of the Sand, Mebs2010, nene82743, SundaySolis, werewolf lover8, bookfreak345, GymnastQueen, LSU lovePurple liveGold, jessiewrrrrrrrr BarbieRachel, Alenerien, lovesong101 and Minx **__for reviewing chapter 73. You guys asked me a lot of questions which normally I would answer of course but I don't want to spoil the next few chapters so you'll just have to wait and read :) _

**Chapter 74**

Only now did the full meaning of the situation hit me. I had lost my brother and even though both Jacob and Andy told me he'd be back, he won't. I felt like I was mourning except that no one died. I was angry with him for leaving us behind like that, I was angry at me for delusioning myself to think he'd actually come back, I was angry at my mother for making him stay with her when we needed him way more and I was angry at the world because the injustice of it seems to always be pointed at me.

I almost didn't go to school today because of how crappy I felt but then I realised my dad wasn't working today and he'd know if I skipped. So I dragged myself out of bed and into Jacob's car. I did still shower and eat, you know.

"You're upset." He saw the minute I got into his car.

"Yes." I just said.

Jacob asked me what was wrong but for some reason I just couldn't say it. I tell him everything but I couldn't bring myself to say the words. The moment I tried, tears started forming in my eyes again.

"What's wrong?" He panicked and quickly pulled me closer to him.

"He's not coming back." I sobbed into his chest.

"Bryan?" He asked me several minutes later when I finally stopped crying.

I nodded. My lip was still quivering but at least I wasn't still sobbing in his arms. I seem to be doing that a lot lately.

We didn't go to school. He took me to first beach and we sat there, watching the waves crash on the shore. We didn't talk, we didn't joke around, we just sat there and surprisingly enough it had just been what I needed. I could have sat there forever with Jacob. It still scares me sometimes to realise how well he knows me, even if I don't tell him anything. He's my soul mate, the best thing that ever happened to me, the person who knows me best and won't run away no matter how awful I am to him sometimes.

I know I'll spend the rest of my life with him because no one will ever compare to my Jacob. I don't like thinking too much of the future. Not knowing what will come is scary but already knowing what will, freaks me out as well. The beauty of what's in the future is that you don't know yet what it will be. I do. It will be in La Push, with Jacob and we'll get married and have a few kids. He'll be in the tribe council, just like his father and all the generations before him. I'll work a part time job and spend the rest of my time raising our kids. I love Jacob but is that it? No surprises? No unexpected twists in our life stories? That was it? And the worst part is that I'm thinking those kids won't have an uncle Bryan in their lives, neither will they have a grandmother. The future really isn't looking all that bright to me and the more I keep thinking about it, the more I don't want to graduate.

"Your dad will be worried if you don't come home when school is finished." Jacob suddenly spoke and pulled me out of my depressing thoughts.

"We're supposed to be studying." I weakly protested.

"Come to my house tonight at nine. I'll order some dinner and then we can study or we can talk." He suggested hopefully.

I smiled at him and agreed. He dropped me off at my house after I promised I would be there at nine. I waved goodbye when he pulled out of my drive way, probably making his way over to Sam's.

Jacob POV

I hate seeing her like that. The whole situation with Bryan was hurting her and she was trying so hard to hide it from me. She doesn't want me to worry about her so much but I do. The ancient vampires coming to Forks isn't nearly as scary to me as a heart broken Erin. I hate the fact that that situation is making it harder and harder for me to properly be there for her, whenever she needs me.

She's tough but I can easily see through her act. She's scared that Bryan won't be back and I have to admit that the longer he's gone, the less I believe he'd actually be back. I just don't get it. Their mother left without once trying to get in contact with them. How could Bryan possibly have chosen that woman over his amazing sister? It hurts her, even if she hides it well. But that's the problem. I seem to be the only one able to see right through to her very core. No one else will comfort her when they don't see the pain in her eyes like I do. I'd do anything to make that go away, including missing the battle and jeopardizing the pack's safety. Because she asked me to.

"Wasn't Erin supposed to come over tonight?" My dad asked.

She was. I looked at the clock. It was five minutes over nine. She's not the most punctual person on the planet but when she's even a minute late, I get overly concerned. I can't help it.

"She's not here yet." I panicked. "She was supposed to be here at nine."

"Relax, Jacob. She's just running a little late." My dad tried to calm me down but the only person who could do that is the one who is not here.

I told myself that my dad was right and she'd be here any minute. But after half an hour I could no longer tell myself such a thing.

"Something's wrong. I have to go find her." I told my dad, already making my way to the door.

"Wait a minute, Jacob. Let's try to call her first."

I quickly dialled her number hoping she'd pick up and have a good explanation why she didn't respond to any of my messages.

"Hi, this is Erin. I can't pick up right now so leave a message after the beep." Her cheerful voice greeted me.

Beep!

"Erin, where are you?" I sounded incredibly desperate but that doesn't matter right now. "You're not here and not answering any of my messages. Just call me, please."

"Maybe you should try and call her house. Her cell phone could just be turned off." My dad tried to cheer me up.

I quickly dialled her house number, hoping this time she'd pick up. I was sorely disappointed when it was her dad who picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, it's Jacob. Is Erin there?"

"No, isn't she with you?" Her father's voice also got a bit worried.

The fact that she wasn't home either, definitely unsettled me even more but I didn't want her father to get as concerned over her wellbeing as me. For all I know I might be getting her into trouble by telling him that I have no idea where she is right now.

"No, she's probably still at Jackie's. They were going to meet up tonight." I made up a lie to comfort her father. "Didn't she tell you that?"

"I haven't seen her at all today." He told me.

How is that possible? I dropped her off right before he would get home.

"Wasn't she there when you got home?" I asked him.

"No."

"When did you get home?"

"Around five. Why are you asking me this, Jacob?"

"No reason. I have to go." I hung up.

Her father's words shook me to the very core. She hadn't just been missing for half an hour. She had been gone for four hours. Where was she?

For the next half hour I ran through La Push, trying to pick up her scent but since she had apparently left in her car before her dad got home, I couldn't trace it. It was too long ago. I tried to keep the thoughts at bay but they were there. The thought of her being taken by a vampire kept filling my head and made me shake in anger and helplessness. Where was she?

Maybe my lie had been correct and she was with Jackie the entire time. Except that it didn't make a lot of sense when she was supposed to be meeting up with me and she was sort of fighting with her best friend. When I ran passed Jackie's house, there was no car in the driveway and all the lights were out. Jackie would only be at one place right now. I ran till my legs burned like hell but at least I had arrived at Sam and Emily's house. She would be here. Erin had to be here.

I practically stormed into the house, frightening every non-shape-shifter that was in the room. Unfortunately Erin wasn't one of them. I was panting from running so fast and kept scanning the room to make sure she hadn't hidden in some far corner. She hadn't. Her scent wasn't here either. She hadn't been here in a long time.

"Where's Erin?" I walked straight towards Jackie who seemed a bit scared of me.

"I-I don't know. I thought she was with you." She stammered.

"What's wrong, Jacob?" Sam asked me calmly while Embry glared at me for making his imprint shake in fear.

"I can't find Erin anywhere!" I panicked.

"She's probably just at home." Emily tried to reassure me.

"She's not. She was supposed to come to my house but she never came. Nobody has seen her for four hours!"

The looks that crossed between my pack mates made it clear they were thinking of the same scenario, after all there were a lot of vampires in the next town right now.

"At her house, did you smell a-"

"No! No vampire has been there!" I shouted at Sam for even suggesting what we were all thinking.

"Are you sure, Jacob?" Quil asked me. "Maybe you-"

"I can recognise the smell of a vampire, Quil!" I snapped. "It wasn't there."

"Maybe she's with Andy?" Jackie spoke.

"Maybe." I looked at her.

Surprisingly enough Jackie still seemed a little scared of me and was clutching quite desperately at Embry's arm. As if I'd ever lay a finger on Jackie. Erin would never forgive me for such a thing and neither would Embry.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Call him!" I yelled at her.

She quickly pulled out her phone while Embry growled at me for scaring his imprint. She dialled Andy's number and we all waited for him to pick up.

"Hello?" I could hear his voice form the other side of the line.

"It's Jackie;" She said.

"Duh, caller ID."

"I'm looking for Erin, is she with you?"

"No, I haven't seen her in a while." His answer took away my final hope that she was just fine. "She wasn't in school today either, I'm guessing she's sick at home."

She wasn't. I felt my stomach drop. She was gone.

"Don't worry, Jacob. We'll find her." Sam tried to comfort me but it was no use. "Paul, Jared and Seth, you guys run the border. Collin, go ask the Cullens if any of their vampires are gone."

I whined when he gave the order to Collin. They all think some vampire has gotten his hands on her. I'm supposed to protect her from things like that.

Suddenly my phone went off. The caller ID said 'Erin'.

"Hello?" I quickly answered.

"Hi Jacob, It's me. I got your messages."

I was ecstatic to hear her voice. I wasn't sure I would ever hear the sweet sound again.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened? Where are you?" I practically shouted in the phone.

"I'm fine, nothing's wrong. I'm sorry I got you worried." She sighed.

How could she act like I was overacting? I thought she was lying somewhere in a ditch with her neck broken. I thought I'd never see or hear from her again and she's acting as if I'm being melodramatic. It made my blood boil and even though it might just be my reaction to the shock wearing off, I got angry at her.

"You're sorry? You're sorry? Do you have any idea what the hell you just did to me? I thought some vampire had gotten his hands on you and you won't even tell me where the fuck you are!"

I don't swear a lot but when I do, they all know I'm really mad. And I was. She almost gave me heart attack! She stayed silent on the other end of the line and for a moment I panicked that maybe not everything was okay or that she had hung up.

"I really am sorry, Jacob." Her small voice spoke to me again. "I honestly kind of forgot to call you."

She said the wrong thing there.

"You forgot!" I growled.

"Calm down, Jacob. I never meant to upset you."

"Where are you?" I grumbled.

"At a gas station." Her answer came after a few seconds of silence.

"What gas station? I'll come pick you up."

There is no way I was going to let her do anything by herself right now. I can't believe she was that irresponsible by not letting me know she wasn't coming. She had no idea what I had been through the past hour and it had only been an hour!

"That might be a little difficult."

"Why?" I got aggravated with her.

"Because the gas station is a four hour drive away from where you are."

"Where the hell are you?"

"I'm on my way to Portland."


	75. Sibling bond

_I really hate it when people steal someone else's story and then post it as their own. Why would anyone do that? What's the use in getting credit for a story you didn't write, when you know you don't deserve it! I'm so angry over it, it makes me not want to write this story any more. But I would never punish all the other people reading my fic because someone was too coward to write an own story and instead just stole mine. I really hope no else is doing something like that because it's just pathetic if you ask me._

_Now that I had my time to write down some anger, I would like to say that I am grateful for the people who read and review my story so thank you __**xtremediva13, Mebs2010, immaluckyducky, kikikiki, Alaina08, MysteriousAndChaotic, Sugar-Ice, ForeverTeamEdward13, Mythical Words, adids14, lovesong101, harrellgirl, SundaySolis, snarkychic13, bookfreak345, werewolf lover8, I'm a weirdo, CDewild and HeavenlyBreeze. **_

**Chapter 75**

I honestly hadn't meant for any of this to happen. The last thing I wanted is to make Jacob worry about me like that and drive him insane. But my head was spinning with everything that had happened and in the midst of it all, I had honestly forgotten to warn Jacob that I wasn't coming.

_Jacob had just dropped me off at my house and I was already on my way upstairs to get a shower, when the phone suddenly rang. I didn't feel like picking up so I just let it ring. I was on top of the stairs when the call went to our answering machine._

"_Hi... Erin?... Dad?... It's Bryan."_

_Holy shit! I raced down the stairs, almost falling over my pants that I had already unbuttoned._

"_I know you probably didn't expect me to call..."_

_I hadn't expected to hear from him at all. I thought I never would again. I had been thinking of the way my life would be without him and I definitely didn't like it._

"_... and maybe you even don't want to hear from me again but-"_

"_Bryan?" I answered the phone, panting but still really ecstatic because my brother was on the other end of the line. _

_There was silence on the other side now. Was he no longer there?_

"_Bryan?" I repeated, a little desperate to hear his voice again. _

"_Hi Erin."_

"_Hi." I choked out._

_My emotions were getting the best of me. I had no idea how much I had longed to hear his voice again until the sound of it almost brought tears to my eyes and I'm certainly not a very emotional type._

"_Are you mad?" He asked me._

"_Furious." I told him, not with an ounce of anger left in my voice._

_He sounded different, more humble if that was possible. He didn't sound like his usual cocky and annoying self. _

_None of us said anything for a while but I could still hear him breathe through the phone and it comforted me. I had no intention to say anything or hang up because this was probably our nicest conversation in years, even if we didn't talk much. _

"_I know I don't have the right to ask you anything..."_

"_You can ask me anything." I quickly spoke, afraid he'd hang up if I gave him a different answer. _

"_Could you... come and get me?"_

"_What?"_

"_Please, come get me." He begged._

_Bryan doesn't beg, ever. When he was little he never even begged for candy and that's something every kid does. What kid doesn't love candy? But Bryan didn't. He would just shrug when we told him no and would try again an hour later, but he never begged. It sounded so strange to hear a plea coming from his mouth._

"_What happened?"_

Something bad must have happened to make him call me like this. No matter how many times I asked him what had happened, he always answered the same. Begging me to come and take him home. I eventually gave in and asked him where he was. He gave me the address and hung up. The address wasn't hers. Why wasn't he staying with her?

After driving for four hours, I stopped at a gas station because there wasn't enough left in the tank to make it all the way to Portland. It was there that I checked my phone to see I had 7 messages from Jacob, each one more frantic that the one before. He had also left me a voicemail.

"Erin, where are you? You're not here and not answering any of my messages. Just call me, please."

He sounded desperate to hear from me and worried. I had completely forgotten that I had been supposed to meet up with him tonight. If I had remembered it, I would have stopped a lot sooner so I could reassure Jacob that I was okay. My dad had send me a text as well, asking me where I was and telling me that Jacob had kind of worried him with the way he had been asking about me. My dad didn't sound as frantic as Jacob but he of course doesn't know half of the dangers in this world. Jacob did and I'm sure he has the worst case scenario in his head right now. I decided to quickly put him out of his misery and called him.

"Hello?" His voice confirmed my suspicion of him being freaked out right now.

"Hi Jacob, It's me. I got your messages."

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened? Where are you?"

"I'm fine, nothing's wrong. I'm sorry I got you worried.".

"You're sorry? You're sorry? Do you have any idea what the hell you just did to me? I thought some vampire had gotten his hands on you and you won't even tell me where the fuck you are!" Jacob yelled and swore at me.

"I really am sorry, Jacob. I honestly kind of forgot to call you." I tried to calm him down but I only made it worse.

"You forgot!"

Obviously it didn't work because he just seemed to get angrier with me.

"Calm down, Jacob. I never meant to upset you."

"Where are you?"

I didn't say anything for a few seconds. I didn't know how he'd react to the news. He definitely wouldn't like me being away from La Push all by myself, with no one from the pack to protect me.

"At a gas station."

"What gas station? I'll come pick you up."

"That might be a little difficult." I told him carefully.

"Why?"

"Because the gas station is a four hour drive away from where you are."

"Where the hell are you?"

"I'm on my way to Portland." I said.

"Portland?" He didn't sound that angry anymore, just disappointed that I had made such a decision. I preferred him being mad at me. "No, Erin. What are you going to do there?"

"I'm going to get Bryan."

"You don't even know if he wants to see you." He sighed.

I knew he was worried that my feelings would get hurt when I got there but Bryan had called me himself. He wanted me to come.

"I do. He called me today and asked me to come and get him."

Jacob was quiet for a moment.

"Why didn't you ask me to come with you?"

"This is something I have to do on my own, Jacob." I told him.

"But you're all alone." But what he really meant was that I was vulnerable and unprotected.

"I'll be fine."

There wasn't much he could do about it anyway. I was almost there and he couldn't leave La Push. So he had no other choice but to be okay with this, even if he wasn't.

"When will you be back?"

"I have no intention of staying there longer than I have to. I'm two hours away from Portland, I'll pick Bryan up and drive back home. I'll be back in at least 10 hours." I assured him.

"Call me every hour. I don't care if you're busy, just call me."

"I will." I smiled in the phone.

"Be safe. I love you."

"I love you too. I'll talk to you in an hour." I said goodbye before hanging up on him.

I got back in my truck, after texting dad that I wouldn't be home tonight. I didn't tell him the reason but neither did I lie to him. I wanted to wait first and see what Bryan had to say about the whole situation.

I drove for another two hours during which I stopped twice to let Jacob know I was still fine. It was already getting pretty late so I'm guessing Jacob won't sleep at all tonight since he'll be awaiting my phone call every hour.

It took me a while to find the address Bryan had given me and turned up at a hotel. Bryan was staying at a hotel? Well, I guess hotel might be a little too nice of a term. The place was a dump, it definitely smelled like one. I almost didn't dare to get out of my car but then I remembered that my younger brother was inside there, waiting for me to come get him out of there. So I took the role as brave and older sister on me and cautiously left the car.

There was a man sitting at the desk. He kind of reminded me of a paedophile so I definitely didn't feel like talking to him but if I wanted to know which room Bryan was staying in, I'd have to.

"Excuse me?" I tried to get his attention.

"What?" He grumbled, not taking his eyes of the television screen in front of him. How welcoming.

"Could you tell me what room Bryan Thompson is staying in?" I asked him politely even though he totally didn't deserve my good manners.

He sighed annoyed because he had to look away from the screen and look up in his computer which room Bryan was staying at.

"What was the name again?" He asked me rudely.

This time he looked up at me and seemed to do a double take once he realised I was a girl. Did I sound like a guy? He suddenly smiled his yellow teeth at me in which I guess was his attempt at being charming. At least now I know he's not a paedophile. Paedophiles don't smile at eighteen years old girls. He could still be a rapist though.

"Bryan Thompson." I told him again.

"Let's take a look." He winked at me before returning to his computer.

Now I kind of wished I had asked Jacob to come with me. I'd feel a lot safer right now if he was here and I'm sure the rapist wouldn't dare to look at me in that way. Jacob would crush him like a bug. The idea of that brought a smile to my face. Unfortunately the man thought it was directed at him and smiled brightly in return.

"I'm sorry, Beauty." He snickered at his own 'compliment'. How clever of him. "Nobody checked in under that name."

What? That's not possible! Bryan gave me the address himself, he had to be here.

"There is a Bryan Kellan though."

He took our mother's name? Why? He just asked me to come and take him home so something must have happened between the two of them. Then why would he book a room under her last name? For a moment I considered turning back and letting the ungrateful ass rot in here. But then I figured he might have used that name to make sure dad wouldn't find him here. That better be the reason.

"That's him. Could you tell me in which room I can find him?"

"He's in room 15, on the second floor. I'm in room 4 by the way." He winked at me.

Ieuw! I almost hurled but instead I smiled awkwardly at him and walked away. The things I do for my brother.

I went up the stairs and stopped in front of room 15. Now that I was standing here, with my brother possibly at the other side of the door, I almost chickened out. What if he wouldn't be as happy to see me as I was to see him? Maybe he just called me because he needed a ride, not because he missed home.

'Get over yourself.' I thought to myself. 'And just knock on the damn door.'

And so I did. I heard some rustling inside the room and I really hoped it was the right room and I wouldn't end up interfering some couple's rendezvous. I could hear someone unlock the door at the other side and when the door opened, I was met with my brother's face.

"You came." He spoke softly.

"Of course I did." I told him.

He opened the door a little further so I could get in. The room looked pretty much like his at home except that his walls at home have a beige colour. These walls do too but I think that has more to do with the fungus than the paint.

"Pack your things. I don't want to stay here much longer."

He nodded and started gathering his things that had been scattered around the entire room. I wanted to sit down while he packed but I was afraid I'd catch a disease from it. How could my brother have stayed in this awful place?

While Bryan packed his things, it was time for me to call Jacob again. I left the room for a moment and pulled out my phone on the balcony.

"I'm concerned that you aren't sleeping yet." I told him the second he answered his phone.

"I'm not sleeping at all tonight." He told me.

"We have school tomorrow. You'll need your sleep."

"Who cares about school?"

"We do, Jacob. Because we want to graduate next month, remember?"

He had been doing surprisingly well in school lately thanks to me insisting. The chance of us graduating together seemed pretty big and for that I was grateful. At least something was going according to plan.

"Are you there yet?" He asked me.

"Yep, I just arrived at Bryan's cheap motel." I sighed.

"I don't like that."

"Me neither. This place is gross."

"So you're heading back?"

"Bryan's packing his things right now but as soon as that's done, we'll go home."

"You're already in Portland, Erin. Don't you want to see her?"

I had thought about it. She was in this town, for all I knew she could be just a few blocks away from here. Did I want to see her? The answer was simple. No. I never felt the need to go and find her like Bryan did. The fact that she was so close right now, didn't matter.

"No. I just want to get Bryan and get the hell out of here."

"Okay, call me in an hour."

I promised him I would. When I entered the room Bryan was just done packing all his things and turned towards me. There was an awkward silence hanging between the two of us. I wanted to talk to him, about everything that I'd been through since he left. I felt the urge to smack him for what he did but at the same time I wanted to hug the life out of him because I was so happy he was safe, and that he was coming home.

"I'm guessing the car's out front?"

I nodded. He picked up his bags and went to the car. I didn't follow him yet. When he came back, there was nothing left to pack.

"Ready, Erin?"

"What happened?" I suddenly asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"You were going to come here and find her. She was going to be thrilled to see you again and you'd stay here, with her. That plan obviously failed so what happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Let's just go home and put this whole thing behind us." He told me, walking towards the door.

"No, we'll not just go home and forget about it. I drove all the way out here because you asked me to after you disappeared into thin air two weeks ago. The least you can do is explain to me what happened."

"Erin..." He protested.

"What? She turned you away, told you she didn't want to be your mother? Did she tell you all the things I've been telling you all along?"

I was getting angry now. I scared the hell out of Jacob and didn't tell my dad where I was going because Bryan had asked for my help and he wouldn't even tell me what was going on.

"Just drop it." He sighed.

"We're not going anywhere until you explain to me exactly what happened in the past two weeks." I crossed my arms and stubbornly sat down on the couch, too late realising it's probably infested with all kinds of bugs.

"Fine. I only went to her house two days ago."

"Why only then?"

"Because I needed time to come up with what I would say to her."

"And then?"

"She wasn't home when I rang the doorbell but her husband was. He let me in once I told him my father was a old friend of hers."

I huffed. That's really downplaying the entire past between our parents.

"I waited for an hour until she got home and when she did, I told her my name was Bryan Thompson, Daniel Thompson's son. That way she couldn't not know who I was."

Even if he hadn't said that, she still would have known who he was. He has her eyes and he looks so much like our dad. There's no way she didn't know who he was.

"And?"

"And nothing. She took one look at me and said she had no idea who I was. Then she asked me to leave."

"What?"

I felt all this anger of the past weeks rise to the surface. What? What! She pretended she didn't even know who he was? Her own son! She's a bigger bitch than I even gave her credit for and I already have the lowest image of her.

"I told you so can we now please go home?" He asked.

"Like hell we're going home! We're going to visit the devil who gave birth to us and I'm going to give her a piece of my mind!" I stormed out of the room.


	76. Seeing the devil

_I can keep the days of the week apart so I know very well it is not Monday today. But I got a lot of reviews from you all and I thought I'd thank you by giving you and extra update. Plus I really want to know what you think about this chapter. Is it what you expected? _

_So the people who reviewed and are thus the reason I've updated an extra chapter are __**Minx, immaluckyducky, Mythical Words, lovesong101, Valkyrie Shadow, adids14, kikikiki, brneyez, Alaina08, ForeverTeamEdward13, xtremediva13, ArcticGrl, Destined2RunWithTheWolves, SundaySolis, sPaRkzZz, werewolf lover8, embleu44, GymnastQueen, Mebs2010, snarkychic13, Toria93 and Annechan. **__Thank you!_

**Chapter 76**

Bryan had refused to get in the car once I told him where we'd be going. I eventually had to literally drag him into the car.

"This is crazy, Erin." He shook his head.

"You know what's crazy? Leaving your loving and caring family to travel to Portland, looking for the mother who pretends she doesn't know you." I snapped.

For the rest of the ride he was silent. I felt kind of bad for throwing that in his face like that but honestly, he deserved it.

259 Northwest 18th avenue really wasn't far away from the cheap motel we just came from. The house was in a fancier neighbourhood than you'd ever find in Forks. The house looked really homey and like it just came out of a movie about a happy family. It made me feel a little sick but I had already driven here now. There's no way I'm not going in.

The lights were still on. Good. Even though I planned on storming in there, it would be way more effective if she was awake.

"We can still turn around." Bryan still tried.

I just shook my head and got out of the car. Bryan stayed seated so I turned back to him.

"Well, get out. You're coming with me."

"This is the worst idea you've ever had." He sighed but still followed me to the front door.

Worst idea? This is the best idea I've ever had. I might have told Jacob just a few minutes ago that I didn't want to see her but now it was all I could think about. I would finally get the chance to tell her to her face everything I've ever thought about her.

"Can I help you?" The man who I could only assume was her husband opened the door.

He frowned when he saw Bryan standing beside me, most likely recognising him as the boy who got kicked out by his wife. His eyes got really big when he stared at me. I look like her. At least I used to, I don't know what she looks like nowadays but judging by the look on her husbands' face, I'd say there still a lot of similarity left between her and me.

"Who is it, honey?" A voice called from further inside the house.

I didn't have to guess who it was. I was surprised that I didn't recognise her voice but Bryan tensed up a little when he heard her. That was definitely our mother. I know it was very rude of me but I pushed inside the house, past the man at the door.

"Hey, you can't just-" The husband tried to stop me but I was already standing in the living room.

She really did look like me. Or I looked like her. She was sitting on the couch and had been watching some television when I had stormed in. Her eyes got big as well when she saw me. Like hell she didn't know who Bryan and I were!

"Erin..." She breathed out.

For a moment she got me confused. Why wasn't she acting like she didn't know me either? She almost seemed... happy to see me.

"You cannot just burst into people's homes like that. If you do not leave in five minutes, I am going to call the police." Hubby tried to threaten us.

"We'll be gone by then. I just have one thing to say." I told him while keeping my eyes on my mother.

No, not my mother. She hadn't been that in a long time.

"You are a terrible person. Not only do you leave your family, your children behind but when one of them tries to find you, you pretend like you don't even know who he is!" I hissed at her.

"Erin..." She tried again.

"Wait, do you know these people, Stacy?" Her husband seemed to be a little slow.

"Of course she knows us, she gave birth to us! It's one thing to leave us behind when we we're only kids, but pretending that you didn't even know your only son when he comes knocking on your door is despicable, even for you. I hate you with every fibre of my being but I am done being mad at you. You're not worth it." I told her coldly before walking out of that house.

"That. Was. Awesome." Bryan smiled at me once we were in the car. "Did you see her face? Did you see his face? You were epic!"

I just smiled softly. It wasn't all that epic. I felt a little bad for the man who had no idea of what just happened in his house but at the same time I was glad that she now had some explaining to do. I was glad I had done this. I guess this was what I had needed all along, to really put it behind me. This was closure. I could finally stop being so angry all the time.

Bryan fell asleep after only ten minutes into the drive. I decided to let him. He did look tired and I know he couldn't have slept well in that dump. He must have been really exhausted because he didn't even wake up when Jacob called me and I pulled to the side of the road.

With our little detour I had kind of forgotten, again, that I was supposed to call Jacob every hour. I probably made him freak out once again.

"I'm so sorry I didn't call you." I answered the phone in a hushed tone.

"But you're fine, right?" He still sounded a little upset.

"I'm doing really good actually." I told him honestly.

Saying those things to her had lifted a weight of my shoulders, one I didn't even know was there until I got rid of it.

"How come?" He asked me.

"Can I tell you when I get home?"

This was definitely something I wanted to share with Jacob but I didn't want to tell him what happened over the phone. He would understand that.

"Of course." See? "I've been thinking, Erin and maybe you should stop at a motel or something tonight. I don't want you driving another six hours into the dark."

A motel? After I just went to a gross one? No way! I wanted to be home right now and sleep in my own comfortable bed, preferably with Jacob in it.

"I just want to go home as soon as possible. Bryan's here too so when I get tired, he can drive."

Jacob still didn't like it too much but accepted it because he too wanted me home fast. Bryan didn't drive. I let him sleep because he was going to need it. When we get home, it would already be morning and he'd have a lot of explaining to do to my father. I had left my dad a voicemail after we left Portland to tell him where I was and that I was bringing Bryan back home. He hadn't called me back but I was certain he would be waiting for us at home, possibly with a frying pan.

"Wake up." I shook my brother once we passed the sign of 'Welcome in La Push'.

"Are we there yet?" He yawned.

"Almost but I suggest you start thinking about what you're going to say to dad."

"He's going to be really pissed, right?"

"He thought you were never going to come back. He'll be thrilled to see you, and then he'll be really pissed." I smiled softly.

"Thank you, Erin. For coming for me."

"Of course. You're my little brother."

"I don't know if I would have done the same." He whispered but I still heard him.

I'm not sure he would have done the same either, but that didn't matter.

"You'd never have to. I'm not so stupid to run away." I teased him.

I was glad to finally pull into my driveway. The lights were already, probably still, on. I knew for a fact that Jacob would be in my room once I went upstairs because I saw a big russet wolf hiding in the woods behind my house. It made me smile.

I went first and opened the front door. I was right. My dad was sitting angrily in the living room, minus the frying pan but he still looked really angry.

"Hi dad." I tried to say as sweetly as I could.

Bryan came in after me and even though my dad was trying to glare us both to death, I could tell he was really happy and relieved that both of his children were once again in his house.

"Go upstairs, Erin." He told me firmly.

He didn't have to say it again. He might think he was punishing me by not letting me hear the conversation between him and Bryan, but I was glad to go to my room. I quickly went up the stairs and into my bed room. The moment I stepped inside, I was pulled into a scorching embrace.

"Don't ever do anything so reckless again."

I hadn't felt bad about leaving for Portland for one second, until I saw the devastated look I had brought upon Jacob's face.

"I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean to upset you." I tried to caress the frown away.

"I'm just glad you're okay." He pulled me close again.

I could hear my dad shouting at my brother downstairs but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I'm sure Jacob can but this might not be the right moment to ask him about that.

"So what was it that you didn't want to tell me over the phone?" He asked after a moment of silence.

"I went to see my mom." I sighed.

"You did? I thought you didn't want to?" He steered us both towards my bed where Ilied down in his arms.

"I wasn't going to but then Bryan told me that she had pretended like she didn't know who he was when he went to see her. I got really mad so I drove to her house and gave her a piece of my mind."

"You did what?" He smiled slightly.

"I might have yelled like a crazy person but I'm really glad I did that."

"Did you need that?" He asked me while brushing the hair out of my face.

"I did. I might not have realised it before but there was some stuff that needed to get off my chest."

"I'm glad." He smiled. "But right now you should sleep."

"I can't. I'm not tired at all. Besides, school starts in a little over two hours."

"Exactly, you need some sleep."

Because Jacob kept pushing me and it would be smart to catch some sleep, I crawled into my bed and tried to sleep. Even though I hadn't really been tired, I fell asleep almost immediately thanks to the warm and safe cocoon Jacob formed.

When I was woken up a few hours later by my alarm clock, I really wished I could skip class today. Unfortunately I had already done that yesterday and since my dad knows what I've been doing last night, he'll force me to go to school. He'll probably even enjoy my zombielike state.

I really wasn't awake at all so everything got through a little slower than usually. When Andy greeted me in the parking lot, it took me some time to realise it was a person standing next to me and not a tree. I only figured that out because trees don't talk that much.

"Hey Erin, you still owe me five bucks." Thomas Door smiled at me once I entered the school building.

"Huh... What?"

"We made that bet, remember? That Zoe would be okay with imprinting. You lost so you owe me five bucks."

I pulled out my wallet to give Thomas five bucks when I realised something. I hadn't spoken to Zoe or even seen her since she found out about the legends and imprinting. I am not giving Thomas my five bucks before I hear from her mouth that she's okay with imprinting.

"Well? Just give me the money!"

"Not yet. I want to hear from Zoe first if she's really okay with Seth being her soul mate and all that."

He sighed, probably not liking the fact that he had to wait a little longer for his five bucks. I mean my five bucks.

"There's your chance." He pointed towards Zoe standing by her locker. "Let's get this over with."

Thomas and I both walked straight towards her. When she noticed us approaching, she seemed almost a little scared of us. What would we possibly do to her?

"Hi Zoe." Thomas smiled brightly, happy with the prospect of getting his money soon.

"Hey." She said cautiously.

There was no need to make some idle chitchat. That would definitely freak her out even more because she and I don't do casual talk. It would be better to just cut to the chase.

"We just want to know how you're dealing with everything Seth told you at the bonfire." I said.

"Oh." She suddenly looked a little uncomfortable. "He said I couldn't tell anyone."

Thomas snorted and I almost did the same. She could tell us, we already knew. Thomas definitely knew.

"You can't tell anything about it to people outside of the pack. You can tell us because Thomas is a shape-shifter and I'm an imprint." I laughed.

"What's that?" She asked us.

Had he not explained things properly to her?

"A shape-shifter?" I asked.

How could she not know what a shape-shifter is? Maybe he had only used the term werewolf when he explained everything to her.

"I know what a shape-shifter is. I meant the other thing."

"Imprint?"

She nodded.

"Well, an imprint is someone one of the wolves imprinted on." I explained to her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Imprinted?"

"Yes, imprinting. You know, when a wo-"

I was stopped by Thomas putting a hand in front of my mouth.

"You don't know what imprinting is?" He asked Zoe and to my surprise she nodded.

Seth didn't tell her? Seth didn't tell her!

Thomas excused himself and pulled me with him down the hallway. I asked him where he was taking me but he just told me to be quiet, that he was trying to listen. I didn't know what that meant until he had found a few members of the pack, standing in a corner and one of them was Seth.

"You didn't tell her about imprinting?" Thomas asked Seth rather calmly to my surprise. I felt like yelling at the boy right now.

"No." He spoke softly but even I, the non-shape-shifter heard him.

"Are you crazy? Why tell us that you did? Someone might have mentioned it to her. Erin here almost spilled the beans because we all thought Zoe already knew."

Wow there. No need to make me sound like the idiot who told her the truth. Seth was the idiot here. How would she have felt if I suddenly announced to her that Seth was her soul mate and there's nothing she can do about it! That might be even worse than Jacob phasing in front of me out of the blue.

"I was going to tell her, I was! But then she was already so shocked when I told her about the legends being true." Well, duh! "And she wasn't ready to hear about imprinting yet. Erin didn't prepare her for it." He suddenly glared at me.

"It's not my fault you don't have the balls to tell her the truth!" I fumed.

"But you promised you'd talk to her and you weren't there."

"You telling the love of your life that she is indeed the love of your life, should not depend on whether or not I show up."

"Guys, there's no need to start yelling at each other." Jared interfered. "Erin's right, Seth. You should tell her. It's not Erin's job to prepare Zoe for this. She won't be any more ready for it than she is now."

Thank you, Jared! He understands the whole imprinting way better than sometimes the imprints do. Kim's a lucky girl. Seth nodded in defeat. Now at least this all won't be my fault anymore. Seth told us he'd talk to her tonight and took off, probably to prepare a big speech for Zoe or something.

"So... am I still getting my five bucks?" Thomas asked.

"When she's okay it with it, you will but I'm pretty convinced I'm the one who'll be richer by tomorrow." I smiled at him before taking off for class.


	77. Blasphemy

_Thank you for all the awesome reviews: __**SundaySolis, Adids14, MysteriousAndChaotic, brneyez, snarkychic13, GymnastQueen, Mebs2010, Alaina08, harrellgirl, kikikiki, lovesong101, bookfreak345, Alenerien, immaluckyducky, Minx, werewolf lover8 and MsAdhara!**_

_I'm going to let you in on a little secret. The reason I've been so consistent in my updates is because I've written already more than what I've updated. I'm currently writing chapter 84. I just like having a head-start that way I'll be able to keep updating weekly, even with a writer's block. I do write a lot though. It calms me down so I write almost every day and when I'm really on a role, sometimes I write a chapter a day. The reason I don't update as soon as I've finished a chapter is because I want to stay consequent in my updates. I really hate it when someone is writing an awesome story and you totally into it but suddenly that person disappears from the earth and you don't hear anything anymore for five months. I don't want to do that to you so I'm going for this approach. At least this way you're sure there will always be a new chapter in a week. _

**Chapter 77**

We were meeting up for the last time for tutoring after classes and to my surprise Paul was actually present. He even voluntarily sat next to me. What's up with that? But I quickly understood why he sat there when I noticed Paul glaring at Bill Kholden for looking in my direction. I had a mixed feeling about all that. I hated the fact that Paul was acting like my protector because I sure as hell don't need one. But at the same time it was nice to have him stick up for me once instead of me always doing that for him. And as long as he'll keep his mouth shut and won't tell Jacob, I'm okay with him glaring at Kholden.

"Has he been bothering you again?" Paul muttered under his breath to me when we were supposed to make our exercises.

"No, he hasn't even looked at me once." I sighed.

I take it back. His sudden 'protectiveness', if you even want to call it that, was starting to annoy the hell out of me.

"What do you think he's been doing the entire hour?"

"I'd say trying really hard not to get glared to death by you. The boy didn't do anything wrong to you."

Bill Kholden should not be anyone's worry. The guy just had a ridiculous crush, he didn't mean me any harm.

"Ever heard of stalkers who kill the subject of their obsession? That all started out with a silly crush as well." Paul spat.

I was about to tell him to stop trying to scare me when a loud howl interrupted my phrase. Paul immediately tensed up and I'm sure I did the same. The howl had sounded pained. Was someone in trouble?

"What's going on?" I asked Paul but he just shook my hand of his arm.

Without excusing himself to our teacher, he rushed out the door. She seemed really surprised by his sudden action and turned to me to ask where Paul was going. How should I know? When I told her I didn't know why he suddenly took off, we continued doing the exercises. But I couldn't focus anymore. What was going on? Was someone hurt? Was Jacob okay? Had a vampire crossed the border? All the possible situations kept going through my mind, every single one unbearable.

During the next twenty minutes, I kept looking at my cell phone in the hopes of someone letting me know what was going on but no one called or texted me. I guess this was kind of what Jacob went through when I left for Portland. I swear I will never do such a thing to him ever again.

Mrs Benton finally told us to hand in our assignments and wished us good luck with our finals which would be next week. I planned on rushing to Emily's house to figure out what had happened but Bill Kholden wouldn't let me. He followed me down the hallway.

"Hey, Erin. Wait up!" He called at me but I just ignored him. There were more pressing matters right now than to once again reject the boy.

"Didn't you hear me? I asked you to wait for me." He suddenly blocked me.

"I don't have time to talk to you."

"Make time." He snapped at me.

"What do you want?" I sighed.

I figured if I just told him whatever it was he wanted to know, he'd back off and I could go find out the reason Paul suddenly took off. I wanted to know if everyone, and especially Jacob was okay.

"Why were you sitting next to Lahote today? You were supposed to sit next to me."

"I can sit wherever I want to." I tried to push past Bill but he wouldn't let me.

"You sit where I want you to sit." He grumbled.

I was just about to tell him to piss off when he pushed me violently into a locker.

"What are you doing?" I asked him with wide eyes because Paul's warning suddenly flashed through my mind and I couldn't help but be a little scared of what Bill Kholden wanted from me.

"I don't like it when you make a fool out of me like that." He practically hissed in my face. "I won't tolerate it again."

"Fine, fine, I won't do it again." I told him what I thought he wanted to hear.

The scary expression immediately left his face when I said those words. Instead the expression on his face almost turned soft. I swear to you this guy is bipolar. I thought he would apologise for practically throwing me against the lockers and then let me go but instead he just stared at me. I really started to panic when his eyes settled on my lips. Hell no! There is no way that guy will ever kiss me. I tried to get away from the person who I guess is now my psycho stalker. It was no use. He might only be human but I was still too weak to break the grip he had on my arms. I practically hyperventilated when he started to lean down. No, no! I don't want him to kiss me! I don't even want him standing so close to me!

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" A loud voice stopped Kholden's descend towards my lips.

I would have loved for Jacob to save me like that but Paul was very welcome as well. Anything to get me the hell away from here.

"None of your business, Lahote."

Paul luckily didn't back down and grabbed Kholden by the neck to get him away from me. I'm pretty sure I could hug him right now. Bill Kholden looked very surprised by Paul's strength and probably deciding there is no way he'd ever win a fight against the shape-shifter, he bolted.

"Thanks."

"You're not supposed to thank me. It's not my job to help you out of situations like this. It's Jacob's." He snapped.

"I know and you don't have to worry about stuff like that. I'm telling Jacob about what just happened."

I had decided in the past moment that I would let Jacob know about Bill Kholden's unhealthy interest in me. This had gotten out of hand way faster than I ever could have predicted.

"What happened? Why did you suddenly leave? Is everything okay?" I asked him once we started walking towards the parking lot.

"I wouldn't go as far to say everything's okay but your precious Jacob is fine."

I might not have asked him that question but it had been the answer I wanted to hear. When I asked him what had happened, he wouldn't tell me. He told me I should just ask Jacob and that everyone was at Emily's place anyway. So that's what I did.

I arrived at Emily's place and noticed that there were indeed a lot of cars out front. I could hear all the people inside so I guess almost everyone was present. I quickly parked my car and made my way inside the house. The little home had never been more crammed. I was shocked that all the shape-shifters still fitted in the small living room. Unfortunately Jacob was not among them.

"Erin!" Jackie smiled at me from her seat on Embry's lap.

"Oh, hi Jackie."

Don't get me wrong, I didn't say it that unenthusiastically because I didn't want to talk to my friend. But she hadn't been the person I was looking for.

"We were wondering why you weren't here yet but then I remembered that you had that tutoring thing going on. How's that going by the way?"

"Euhm... good. Do you know where Jacob is?" I cut the little conversation short.

Jackie seemed disappointed that I'd rather look for Jacob than talk to her but come on, that's one of the only things she'd be able to understand better than anyone else. I don't think she's ever not by Embry's side.

"In the kitchen."

Without saying anything else to her, I quickly entered the kitchen. It's not like I didn't believe Paul when he told me that Jacob was fine but it definitely felt good to see it with my own two eyes.

The kitchen was pretty crammed as well. Jacob was sitting around the table with Sam, Jared and Quil. I don't know what they were talking about but I didn't care. Emily and Kim were baking or cooking something again. Claire was sitting in Quil's lap as usual but seemed very disappointed over the fact that for a change he paid more attention to what Sam was saying than whatever it was the little girl wanted to show him. I quickly strode over to Jacob's seat and wrapped my arms securely around him.

"Hi, are you okay?" He asked me when he turned me around and seated me in his lap.

Normally I wouldn't be too comfortable with Jacob holding me like that in front of the pack but we were only in the presence of people who knew what it was like to imprint or be imprinted on. They wouldn't be all annoying about it.

"The question is are you okay?"

He smiled that beautiful smile of his and assured me that he was fine and that no one else was hurt either. Good. But then what was the reason for Paul running away and everyone gathering here?

"What's going on?" I looked Jacob in the eye.

I had almost forgotten the fact that there were still other people in the room. Jacob can have that effect on me. I almost snapped at Sam for interrupting our private moment but he was giving me the answer I had asked Jacob for.

"Someone else phased." He told me.

"I didn't know someone else was about to phase."

I couldn't remember Jacob telling me such a thing. Why hadn't he told me that? I turned back to Jacob to glare at him a little for keeping such information hidden for me.

"We didn't know that either." Jacob told me.

"How could you not know that?" I turned to Sam because I'm sure the alpha was supposed to tell me.

"He's not in La Push. We haven't seen him around here so we didn't pick up on the symptoms."

"Not from la Push? How is that possible? Only the Quileute people can phase, right?"

"He is Quileute and he originates from the reservation just like all of us. He's older than most of us so he left La Push a few years back to go to college." Sam explained.

"Who is it?" I asked.

Several possible names popped up in my head but only one truly made sense. The shape-shifting genes run in the family so it would make sense to have siblings in the pack.

"Alex Longfree."

Nathan's older brother.

"The pained howl, was that..."

"Nathan." Sam nodded.

This would definitely be upsetting for Nathan. He doesn't want to be a shape-shifter and I'm sure he doesn't want the same fate for his brother. Poor Nathan. Poor Alex.

"Now what?" I asked them.

"We've got a problem. Alex is in his last year in college and wants to finish. He refuses to come back to La Push earlier."

"Can't you make him?"

"I could but I won't. It's just two more weeks and it's not like we desperately need someone extra to run patrols."

Says you! I wouldn't mind Jacob having more free time because there's someone extra to take over his patrols.

"We do however need Alex to control himself. He's in Florida right now and we can't risk him phasing in front of anyone. That's why someone should go to Florida and help him control himself. I asked Jacob to do it."

No, no, no, no, no! Jacob can't go, he can't leave! My mouth dropped open and my eyes grew to the size of golf balls. Sam just stared blankly at me as if he had anticipated me not being okay with it. I was more than not okay with it, I was... I was going to throw a tantrum is what I was going to do.

"No!" I yelled.

"Erin, we need someone-" Sam tried to reason with me.

"You go do it yourself then!" I shouted at the alpha.

"I told you she wouldn't be okay with it." Jacob muttered from behind me.

"You shut up!" I got off his lap and stared at him. "It shouldn't be me who's not okay with this. You shouldn't be okay with this either!"

"I don't want to go but Sam needs my help."

"Ask someone else!" I turned back to Sam. "Ask... Leah! She's not going to school anymore and she has the time."

I thought my alternative was pretty clever but Sam immediately shot that down.

"Leah has no experience in training new shape-shifters, Jacob does. There is no one else who can do it."

"Then order Alex to get over himself and get back to La Push!"

"Erin." Jacob softly called out to me. "I'm going."

How could he be so okay with this? I didn't want him to leave, I wanted him to stay with me. Why didn't he want the same thing? I rushed right past Sam and left the house through the kitchen door. I heard Jacob's footsteps follow me almost immediately and it was only a matter of seconds before he caught up with me.

"Erin! Where are you going?"

"Home." I grumbled.

I felt him wrap his hand around my arm and turned me around. I almost felt bad for getting angry at him because it once again brought that hurt look upon his face and I hate that I do that.

"Please don't go. Talk to me about all this."

"Why? You obviously already made up your mind. It doesn't matter what I think."

"It always matters what you think. Talk to me."

"I can't not see you for two weeks, Jacob. I can't."

The stupid boy had the audacity to smile at what I just said. I punched him lightly in the stomach for smiling like that.

"Don't smile. It's not funny!" I almost yelled.

"I don't want to miss you for two weeks either, Erin." He smiled at me.

"Then don't go." I begged him.

"I have to. Sam's counting on me."

"Fuck Sam!"

I wonder if insulting the alpha is blasphemy? The way Jacob keeps smiling at me, I guess not.

"I'll be back before you know it."

I huffed. Yeah, right!

"I'll be back before graduation."

"But you won't graduate because you're not here to take you finals."

We worked our butts off so we would be able to graduate together and now that had all been for nothing.

"I am going to graduate. Dad pulled some strings in the council and the school will take my average of the year as my score and thanks to your help that's high enough to pass and graduate."

"That's nice." I shrugged.

"Come on, Erin. I don't want to fight on the last night that I'm here." He tried to pull me closer to him but I quickly pushed him away when his words sank in.

"Last night?"

"Well, Alex is all alone right now. I have to get there as soon as possible but I was still able to talk Sam in letting me spend one more night with you."

"One night. Whoohoo!" I responded sarcastically.

"Please don't be like that, Erin." Jacob sighed.

"Be like what? Angry? Well, I am angry!"

"Could you be angry tomorrow?"

As if I could just postpone my anger! I was about to tell him off when I noticed him looking at me with those pleading eyes that are just so hard to resist.

"Jacob." I whined because it's just so unfair to look at me like that when I'm trying really hard to be angry at him.

It's not fair that those brown eyes can take away my anger whenever he wants to. I eventually caved and wrapped my arms around his waist and snuggled my head into his chest. I might as well be angry tomorrow, when I can take it out on the entire pack for making Jacob do their dirty work.

_Who saw that coming? (I mean the Jacob part, the Kholden part was a little led up to)_


	78. A Jacobless week

_Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews: __**sPaRkzZz, ForeverTeamEdward13, nco1970, Alaina08, kikikiki, adids14, SundaySolis, MysteriousAndChaotic, jules, KGrace91, lovesong101, werewolf lover8, MsAdhara, reese's lover, cullensrule, Alenerien, cdewild, mato-nami101, Sugar-Ice and !**_

_Erin seemed to rub a lot of you the wrong way the last chapter (or even before that). She is being selfish right now but in my opinion imprinting makes it extremely hard for her to be away from Jacob for very long. Sure it's just two weeks and it won't kill her or anything, but it just feels almost like a life time for her. Just staying true to my character. By the way, she does deserve a little credit for not telling Jacob about Kholden right before he left to make him stay. She didn't want to put him in such a position. _

_I honestly don't know yet what I'm going to do with Paul. If I will give him an imprint or not and if it will be Rachel Black or not. So, we'll all just have to wait and see where this story takes me :) _

**Chapter 78**

I think it's quite needless to say I'll be in a terrible mood for the next two weeks. Jacob had left early this morning and even though I wouldn't see him again for fourteen days, I refused to kiss him goodbye. I know it was kind of mean and juvenile of me to punish him in that way but it would just have made it harder to let go of him. He had been upset over that but I don't care. I hope he's upset, I hope he'll get so upset that he'll be back here in a few days. I just don't think that's going to happen.

Because of everything that had happened yesterday with Jacob, I had forgotten to tell him about Bill Kholden's freaky obsession. If I had thought about it, I still wouldn't have told him. There's no use of telling him when he won't be around to do something about it.

On the positive side, with Jacob gone I'll concentrate a lot more on the finals. If that's the price I have to pay, I'd rather fail my entire year. My dad seemed to be pleased with that fact though. Of course he didn't know that Jacob had left town. As far as everyone knows Jacob's just suffering from a very bad case of mono, again. I don't know how many more times the population of La Push is going to believe that lie. Of course people have been sort of avoiding me because of it since it's highly contagious and known for the kissing disease. I don't care. They should avoid me because I'm in an awful destructive mood.

"Sorry to hear about Jacob being sick but just so we're clear, you don't have it, right?" Andy cautiously sat down next to me.

"I'm fine." I sighed.

"Good because you're my friend but if you'll get me sick during finals, our friendship is over." He grinned.

I sat with Andy during lunch but I was not pleasant company. The thing that pissed me off even more is that Jacob will spend most of the time in his wolf form and that makes it kind of hard for him to call me often. He hadn't even send me a text since he left. Of course that makes sense because he only left like 5 hours ago. 5 hours down, only 331 hours to go. I think I might die.

I had decided to spend an awful lot of time at Emily's place to remind the pack of how displeased I was with this arrangement. I was going to annoy the hell out of them. After two hours I was doing a pretty good job.

"Why you being mean?" Emily's little cousin suddenly asked me out of the blue.

"I'm not mean, I'm angry." I told Claire.

"Why you angry? Because Jacob weft you?"

"He didn't leave me." I said to her, ignoring the annoying snickers of the pack in the background.

That was day one.

Jacob finally called me the next day when I was once again at Emily's place, annoying the hell out of everyone in the way only I can. I immediately stopped talking to them and raced outside to have a private conversation with Jacob.

"Jacob?"

"Hey Erin."

I'm so pathetic, my heart flutters at just the sound of his voice. He's not even here. But I was still practically ecstatic to hear from him

"How's Florida?" I tried to start up a conversation about practically anything, I just wanted to keep hearing his voice.

"Really warm and very different from La Push."

"But you still miss La Push, right?" I hated that I sounded like a clingy girlfriend right now. Of course he'd miss La Push, what a stupid question to ask!

"Florida doesn't have you."

That answer was totally worth sounding desperate for.

"Please tell me Alex is already extraordinary at controlling himself."

If that were the case, Jacob wasn't needed anymore and he could come back. I was starting to really hate Alex Longfree, even thought I know he didn't really do anything wrong. Except not coming to La Push when asked, the idiot!

"He's a new shape-shifter, Erin. I don't think I'll be back sooner than two weeks."

"That sucks." I whined.

"The whole situation sucks, I know." He sighed and I was glad to hear he hates this almost as much as I do. "The pack told me that you've been giving them a hard time."

"How do you know that?" I frowned.

"I might be far away but the connection between the pack is as clear as ever." He told me.

Even more unfair! They send him away but still get to hear what is going on while I have to wait for one pathetic phone call. Jacob just gave me reason to be even angrier with them.

"I can either be angry at them or angry at you."

"I don't want you to be mad at me either but don't be so hard on the pack. They already have a lot on their minds with the Cullens and the battle."

I told Jacob I wouldn't act too much like that anymore but I didn't mean it. I was still going to be one pissed off bitch to them. They'd just have to deal with it, instead of running to Jacob for backup.

That was day two and I missed him even more than the first day.

The next day was spend at Port Angeles community college. I had driven all the way there because I had an interview. It was more for show than anything else because I don't know if anyone has ever been rejected. My grades weren't really impressive but not terrible either.

The campus was exactly like all the pictures I'd seen but I was actually sad to be there. It just once again reminded me of the fact that high school was as good as over and August was approaching fast.

The interview had gone well and I was out of there faster than I expected. I could have stayed in Port Angeles a little longer but I really didn't feel like roaming that town all by myself. Plus it was Saturday and finals were starting on Monday. I should spend all my free time studying now.

That was day three and my brain hurt from all the studying but that's good, right?

Emily had asked me to come by on Sunday for an hour or so. The pack might not be too happy with my presence right now but she had said that it was important. She wanted to discuss some things for the wedding.

When I entered the cosy house, all the other imprints were already in the kitchen. We talked about flowers, seating arrangements and stuff like that. Sam and Emily would get married in the small church of La Push. It might not have been an impressive building but it had character and really represented what La Push is all about in my eyes. They would have the reception afterwards on the beach. They wanted to keep things really simple and I thought their entire wedding was exactly like them, simple but solid.

Leah avoided Emily's place lately because of the wedding preparations. I can't even begin to imagine how she must be feeling right now.

That was day four and I was getting concerned over the fact that I hadn't heard from Jacob since Friday.

On Monday I finally heard from Jacob again. He had called me right when I was standing in the parking lot after taking my first test.

"How did it go?" He asked me when I picked up.

"Pretty good actually." I shrugged even thought I know very well he can't see that.

"That's great. How's the studying going?"

"It would be better if I had my study buddy here with me." I pouted though it can't possibly have the same effect through the phone and I know that as well.

"Believe me, you wouldn't be studying a lot." I could hear him grin.

I'd gladly be in that situation. I didn't talk for Jacob much longer since he had work to do with Alex and I really should be studying like crazy this week.

I was supposed to go by Emily's today to help Jackie and Kim work out which apartment they would eventually go for when they'd go to Seattle but I knew that meant I wouldn't be able to study much afterwards and I was already behind. So I called Jackie to let her know this. She was very persistent on me sharing my opinion on the matter and made me promise that I'd come by tomorrow for the final decision.

That was day five and at night I pitied myself to sleep.

The second day of finals was a success as well, a smaller one than yesterday but a success nonetheless. Like Jackie had made me promise, I drove to Emily's in the late afternoon to share my opinion on the possible places in Seattle for her and Kim next year. Once again a reminder of the time slipping though our fingers.

We were sitting at the table in the living room with a few members of the pack scattered around the house. I told Kim and Jackie that I liked the one they had a preference for the most as well.

"Okay, so that's settled. We'll call the landlord tomorrow and the apartment will be ours." Jackie squealed.

"Is it close to your campus?" Emily asked her when she entered the living room.

"The other one was closer but it's not a long walk either."

Jackie suddenly pulled out a map out of her bag and showed us both locations. I should not be surprised by how prepared she is.

"That's the apartment and there's our campus. There's a park right next to it and me and Kim already decided we'll go there very often. Sometimes we'll have to go to the other campus which is right over there. Then we'll have to take a bus because-"

Bam!

All our heads shot up in surprise. Someone had left the house in a rage and almost slammed the front door out of its hinges. I hadn't seen her leave but by looking through the room, I could tell it had been Leah. What had gotten her upset now? We weren't even talking about the wedding. For someone who doesn't have her period anymore, she's sure PMS'ing a lot.

"What was that about?" I asked the other girls when they made it clear they were going to pretend nothing had happened.

"It's nothing." Emily sighed.

"Do people always slam doors over nothing?" I cocked an eyebrow.

"It was rather insensitive of us talking about going to college in front of her." Kim said remorsefully.

"Why?"

"Because she can't go to college." Emily told me.

"Does she want to?"

"Yes, desperately. At first I thought she just wanted to go to college to get away from La Push and..."

... Emily and Sam. She didn't have to say it. We all knew how much hatred Leah still held for everything that happened so long ago. I can't say I don't understand it though.

"But it's more than that. She wants to get an education too and because of the pack she can't go to college."

"Why not?"

"Just like all the other shape-shifters she can't leave La Push. Even if she somehow worked it out with the pack, she'd miss too many classes to keep up. She'd just be wasting her money." Emily sighed.

Poor Leah, her life really does suck.

That was day six and I actually felt guilty for having the opportunity to go to college.

I hadn't slept well last night because I kept thinking about Leah. I really felt sorry for her and not just because of the whole college thing. Jacob once told me that she really wanted to imprint, not because then she'd have someone to love but because that would finally take away the heart ache she still felt over Sam. Sometimes imprinting really sucks.

I had just finished my test of the day when I had a moment of clear brilliancy. Without properly thinking it through - I really should think more before I act - I got into my car and drove to the Clearwater house.

"Oh, Hi Erin." Sue opened the door.

I hadn't seen her very often. I only met her two times, at the bonfires, but whenever I would see her in town, she always smiled friendly at me. From Jacob I knew she had spending most of her time with Charlie Swan and her children, especially Leah, weren't pleased with that. Sure, their father was no longer here but that doesn't mean they want to see their mother move on with their father's best friend. I'm not the only one who thinks that's kind of wrong, right?

"Seth's not here right now. I assume he's at Emily's."

"Actually, I was hoping I could talk to Leah."

She seemed taken by surprise that I wanted to talk to her anti-social bitter daughter but let me in anyway. She called Leah downstairs and then left me sitting in the living room. The Clearwater house was very similar to other homes in La Push aside from the pictures on the wall. Though it was small and built the same way as Jacob's house, there was definitely a feminine touch here.

"What are you doing here?"

I hadn't even heard her come down the stairs. Shape-shifters were sneaky. She didn't seem too pleased to see me which shouldn't be a surprise to me. We aren't exactly friends and in her eyes I was on team imprint.

"Euhm... There's something I wanted to discuss with you." I spoke softly.

This is one of those moments that I realise I should have thought the decision through. If I had, I would have realised in time that Leah doesn't like me and might make an attempt at ripping off a limb or two. Why do I always look up the shape-shifters who don't want to be around me?

"What's that?" She cocked an eyebrow at me, still with that sneer on her face intact.

"College."

Suddenly she growled at me and wore a look with so much hatred on her face. Why was she so mad all of the sudden? Oh, no... I hadn't meant it like that. I didn't come here to rub in her face that I'd be going to college and she can't go.

"No, I didn't come here to make you feel bad."

"Then why the hell did you come here?" She was still growling at me.

"I have a preposition for you."

"Unless it's you becoming the shape-shifter instead of me, I'm not interested." She snapped at me.

I really wish I had that power. I wouldn't want to be a shape-shifter any more than Leah but at least I wouldn't have to share a mind with an ex-boyfriend who trampled on my heart and then keeps thinking about the woman he left me for.

"I want you to go to college." I told her.

"You think I don't want that?" She yelled.

This conversation wasn't going like I had planned in my head at all.

"I'm going to make it happen."

"What? You're just talking crazy. Please leave." She sighed defeated this time.

"No, hear me out. I can't give you the full college experience because you have other priorities but I think I can give you a part of it if you went to Port Angeles community college this year."

"Don't talk bull. I can't go to my classes. I'll just fail."

"Not if you have someone there who backs you up and passes you all their notes. I could help you pass college." I insisted.

She just stared at me as if I lost my mind. Maybe I did. Why would I, in my right mind, want to help Leah like that? It would take a certain sacrifice on my part. I'd have to attend all my classes and pay a lot of attention. I couldn't slack off in the slightest because that wouldn't just cost me my education, it would cost me Leah's as well. And I'd have to use my free time to tutor her on everything that she'd miss.

"Just think about it, okay? This might be your only opportunity." I told her before I left her house.

That was the first week and I missed Jacob so much, my heart ached with desire to be able to hold him again.

_So did that make up a little for Erin being a bitch? She has a nice side too :)_


	79. Week number two

_Thank you __**sPaRkzZz, kritikaLAV, lovesong101, Alaina08, kikikiki, wolfhappiness, ForeverTeamEdward13, SundaySolis, feliciiaab, The Red Crayon, Sugar-Ice, harrellgirl, werewolf lover8, brneyez, ChelseaDagger14, cdewild, jules, Jazz, Wasipi, nozer, nene82743, peygoodwin, XxxPrettyxxxGirlxxX **__and __**MysteriousAndChaotic **__for the many rewarding reviews!_

_I'm glad you still like Erin and think she's a realistic character. She actually has a really soft side to her but doesn't like showing it. I just think that makes it more fun to write. I like the more complicated characters who aren't perfect like Leah and Paul. Maybe that's why I'm making Erin more likely to spend time with them. It's a slow process though. _

_The reason I don't write a lot of scenes including the Cullens is because it's not their story. It's Erin's. And I always figured the pack would do anything to keep the vampires away from their imprints. Erin is actually the only one who's ever met one of them so I already included them more than I'm sure the pack would have liked. Though I have to admit, they make some nice drama. _

_Now this chapter might appear a little as a filler even though there is some important information in this. The next one however, is really good if I may say so myself! I'm excited to see what you think about it so if you all review nicely, maybe I'll update a little sooner :D_

**Chapter 79**

The first seven days without Jacob went by agonisingly slow and there was no hope for me that the next seven days would be any different. They varied between doing my finals and desperately waiting for Jacob to call me. I'm sure he tried to contact me every day but so far that hasn't always worked out.

It had been three days ago that I last spoke to Leah. I didn't know if she was really considering my offer or if ignoring me was her rejection. I hadn't really told anyone about the crazy thing I proposed to her so there was no one who I could ask about this. I eventually figured she wasn't going to agree with me but then suddenly she showed up at my doorstep one evening.

"Leah?"

"Yeah." She sighed. "Could I come in?"

I opened the door far enough so she could walk through. We sat down in the living room where we could talk freely because my dad was at work and my brother upstairs, trying to make up for all the work he had missed in school.

"So... is there something you wanted to talk about?" I asked her.

"Did you mean what you said the other day? When you said you'd help me pass college?"

I nodded. My offer had been pretty damn serious.

"Why?" She asked. "Don't take this the wrong way but I'm having a hard time believing that you'd do this out of the selfless bottom of your heart. What's in it for you?"

"Nothing, I just want to help. I can't really explain to you why. Maybe it's because you deserve this or maybe it's because I don't want to be alone next year after all those years of going to school with my best friends. But does it really matter why I'm willing to do it?"

"I guess not. Just don't think that it means I owe you anything." She returned to her bitchy self.

"Does that mean you'll do it?"

"Maybe, I mean I've talked to Sam about what it would mean for the pack if I went to college but as long as I still do my patrols and show up when necessary, he said he didn't see why I couldn't go."

"That's great! You'll have to hurry up with applying for college though. We should make sure we have all the same classes."

"Why are you being excited about all of this? You should be bumped out, you'll have more work now and you'll have to give up some of your time with Jacob to explain all the things that I've missed."

I just shrugged. I don't know why I'm getting excited over this. Maybe my second guess had been correct and I really just needed someone by my side for the next years. It wouldn't be Jackie since she'll be going to school in Seattle with Kim. It wouldn't be Andy either since he's actually going to live the dream in New York like he and Jackie always wanted. He's not too pleased over the fact that she won't be joining him next year.

I promised Leah that I'd help her with filling in her application. I was walking her to the door when she suddenly stopped.

"Everything okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah, it's just that you're being actually genuinely nice to me. I feel like I should do something in return."

"Take Jacob's place in Florida?" I suggested laughingly as though I was joking while I really wasn't.

"I can't do that but at least I could be honest with you." She pondered out loud.

"What do you mean?"

"There's something you don't know about Jacob's trip to Florida. Sam did need someone to do it and thought that Jacob would be perfect for it since he had already been training the new ones but he wasn't going to ask that of him. Because of you. He didn't want to take Jacob away from his imprint but when he asked for a volunteer, Jacob said he should do it. He volunteered. Just thought you should know that." She said to me and then she took off.

What? Jacob left for Florida because he wanted to? Not because Sam made him? Why would he do that? I can't think of a reason why he would want to be away from me for at least two weeks. He didn't want to be around me anymore? The thought of him wanting that brought tears to my eyes. But I didn't know for sure that I was the reason he left but now that I think of it... what else could the reason be?

I should be angry at him right now. He lied to me. Sam and Jacob both told me that he was leaving because the alpha made him. He said he didn't want to be away from me either for so long. I should be angry at him, I should feel like shouting and screaming or maybe break something but I don't. I'm not angry, I'm hurt. Why doesn't Jacob want to be here? What did I do that he ran 3000 miles away from me?

That night Jacob called me for the first time in two days. I had been waiting for that phone call the past 48 hours but I didn't pick up. I was afraid I'd just cry over the phone if I did and if I'm going to let Jacob know that I'm aware of the fact that he lied to me, I'm going to do it to his face.

My finals were over so I had nothing to do during the day. Jackie was with Embry of course and Andy was arranging everything for his move to New York. He'd be leaving for a trip to New York right after graduation so everything would be settled for September. I didn't even want to think about Jacob because I would just go insane wondering why he volunteered to go to Florida. So there really was only one person left that I could be around. I had promised Leah I'd help her fill out her application for Port Angeles Community College and it would give me the perfect moment to ask her why Jacob left.

When I rang the doorbell, Leah opened quickly, looking happier than I'd ever seen her. She might even have worn a ghost of a smile on her face. She suddenly looked a lot prettier.

"Hey Erin, come on in. My mom and Seth are both gone but she demanded that you'd stay for lunch."

"That's okay. It's not like we don't have any food at home."

"Don't be stupid. She loves having people around the house and it's the least I can do. Plus she's an amazing cook and I'm sure you don't eat like that at home."

It's actually me who cooks at home so I guess she kind of insulted me right now. But that's okay, I'd rather eat something made by Sue Clearwater than by me. So I agreed to stay for lunch, not very reluctantly.

We sat down at the kitchen table and ran through her form of application. It was the same one I had filled in months ago but I still remembered pretty well all my answers so I'd like to think I was a great help to her.

"Can I ask you something?" I turned to her when we were almost done.

"Depends on the question." She said without even looking at me.

"Why did Jacob volunteer?"

That got her attention. She stopped writing things down and looked at me.

"I wouldn't have said it if I knew you were going to make a big deal out of it." She sighed.

Of course I was going to make big deal about it! My boyfriend lied to me and volunteered to spend two weeks away from me. It is a big deal!

"I just want to know the reason."

"Well, it's not like he and I had a little chat about it." She muttered under her breath.

"Probably not but you can share a mind with him while you're a wolf. I'm sure you know something, at least more than I do."

"Fine, I might be able to guess the reason."

Okay, this is the moment where Leah tells me that I'm such a horrible imprint that Jacob just needed to get away from me for a while or maybe try and break the imprint bond while he's at it. No, he wouldn't do such a thing. I know that much. But what if I really am the reason he's gone?

"And that is...?"

"The same reason that he's been taking over everyone's patrols."

"He what?"

"Oh... you didn't know that either?" She looked guilty.

What else don't I know? When did he start hiding things from me again? I thought we were passed that phase. He knows better than that.

"Jacob has been taking way more patrols that he should. Thanks to him I've hardly had any patrols these past few weeks."

That explains why it seemed like he was the only one still doing patrols. Because he was the only one doing patrols.

"Why?"

"Because he feels guilty." She shrugged.

Guilty? Over what? Leah noticed my confused expression and explained a little better.

"He feels terrible over the fact that when the first rainy day of August comes, he won't be joining us in the battle. He'll be leaving us more defenceless than if our beta did join us. He's trying to make up for that by doing all the other work."

Oh, shit! I was the reason he left. I made him promise to me that he wouldn't be in that battle and now he's working his butt off for the pack because I put him in that horrible position.

"I'm selfish." I whispered more to me than to Leah.

"Huh?" Leah didn't understand why I said such a thing but of course she wasn't able to follow my trail of thought.

"Paul was right." I whispered again, remembering the conversation I had with him not so long ago about the same topic.

"Now 'Paul' and 'Being right' are two things that should not belong in the same sentence. It's just wrong."

But I ignored her little comment because I knew deep down that Paul had been right. I knew it back then as well but was too stubborn to even admit it to myself. But apparently Jacob had been suffering because of it as well and I don't want to be selfish when it hurts Jacob. But if I didn't ask him to stay out of the battle, Jacob could get hurt as, well far worse than just emotionally.

"I do get it." Leah suddenly spoke again. "I wish someone would care enough to ask me to stay out of the battle."

I'm sure there were people who cared about her that much as well like her mother and brother. They just aren't selfish bitches like me. I just wish the Cullens would sort out their own mess without help from the pack, just for once.

"I have to go." I told her and got up.

"But I thought you were going to stay for lunch?"

"I just remembered that I have something to do." I lied terribly to her.

"You don't have to come up with excuses. If you don't want to stay, you can just tell me."

"I'm sorry. I just need to think about all of this."

She nodded and let me walk out of her house. I really did need some time to process all of this. How could this all have been happening to Jacob without me knowing about it? This definitely explains why he's been so tired and grumpy lately. He was mad at me because I asked him to stay out of it and he couldn't say no because that meant hurting his imprint. I've put him in such a horrible position but I still don't want to take it back. He can be mad at me as much as he wants to, as long as he's safe in the end.

The next few days I spend either my time alone at home since there was nothing left to do for me at school after taking all my tests, or I spend my time with Leah planning together which classes we were going to take next year. I have to be honest and admit that she isn't such a bad company when she isn't scowling or throwing bitchy comments around. Going to college together isn't that bad. The fact that she's interested in the same classes as me, only works in our benefit.

On one of those rare moments that I actually left my house to walk out the dog, I came across Zoe Hurley at the beach. Normally I would have just passed by but I was shocked to see how awful she looked. I had won the five bucks because when Seth told her about imprinting, she kicked him out of her house. That was a week ago and he hasn't seen her since then. I know he's miserable and I shouldn't be too shocked that she looks that way as well but I am. I never heard her talk about her feelings for Seth but maybe she didn't realise how much he means to her until she cut him out of her life.

I didn't have the intention to go talk to her, not even if she had been bawling her eyes out. But she noticed me walking along the shore. At first she seemed set on ignoring my presence as I did with hers but then she suddenly stood up and marched in my direction with a confident look on her face I had never seen before.

"Erin."

"Zoe." I said hesitantly.

I think she only prepared the conversation in her head that far because she suddenly blanked and just stared at me with no clear expression on her face. What was it that she wanted from me?

"Seth imprinted on me." She blurted out after a moment of awkward silence.

She might not have realised it herself but I noticed her voice shaking when she mentioned his name. She reminded me a little bit of myself in that moment, when I had been avoiding Jacob and the mere thought of him was enough to make me cry out in self pity.

"I know." I spoke calmly.

"What am I supposed to do with that?"

"That's up to you." I shrugged.

"Can't you just tell me what to do?" She begged me.

I shook my head. It was really all up to her to figure out what she wanted from Seth. Sure, I could tell her that no one will ever love her like he does and that she won't feel like that about anyone else but she has to figure that out on her own.

"It's not just the imprint..." She spoke again. "It's also him being a shape-shifter and the fact that vampires exist. It's just so much. It's too much."

"It's going to take some time getting used to all of it. I've known for a while now and sometimes it still blows my mind. But the question is if you want to get used to it."

"I don't know." She whispered.

"Then take the time to figure that out." I shrugged.

I was going to walk away again but she stopped me. She looked like she still had something left to say to me.

"Wait, I... Could you just tell me what it's like?"

"What's what like?"

"Well, Jacob did imprint on you, right?"

I nodded.

"Isn't it hard, dating a shape-shifter and knowing that you'll never be with anyone else?"

"I could be with someone else if I wanted to but the thing is, I don't want to. Imprinting is not just him loving you forever, it's you loving him just as much. Maybe it's too soon in your relationship to realise that but the bond between you two is really strong. You get to decide if you want to keep fighting it or if you'll give into it."

"I don't want to be without Seth."

"There you have your answer."

"But I still don't know if I'm ready for all of this. There's the pack and the vampires and I don't even know yet how I feel about him."

"Do yourself and Seth a favour, figure this out together. You can ask me all you want but eventually you'll have to work things out with Seth."

"Do you think he misses me?" She whispered.

Of course he misses her. She's his imprint!

"Yes, now I think you should go see him and tell him how confused you feel right now."

She nodded and told me that she would. I think I might have just helped Seth with his imprint, again. He owes me so much after all the things I've done for him and Zoe. I just wish things were as easy for me to figure out with Jacob as well.


	80. 911

_Thank you __**Imprinting Magic, ForeverTeamEdward13, nozer, kikikiki, The Red Crayon, Alaina08, cdewild, wolfhappiness, SundaySolis, harrellgirl, werewolf lover8, nermz, Critique, Alenerien, MysteriousAndChaotic, embleu44, jules, Violet the Wolf, IceHeart101 **__and __**r-cklessly. **_

_I feel kind of bad because I promised you all I'd update sooner if you reviewed the previous chapter. You reviewed but I didn't update. So sorry, but it's been one crazy week. Summer finally began and that comes with a lot of celebrating :D I hope this chapter makes up for it (because it's a pretty fun chapter)._

**Chapter 80**

The two weeks were almost up. There were only two days left but I've heard from Sam that there's a big possibility that Jacob might have to stay a little longer. I hadn't spoken to him since I found out that he had volunteered to go to Florida. He had called me but every time I refused to pick up, mainly because I felt kind of guilty that he was all the way over there thanks to my request.

I took all my tests so the school year was actually kind of over. All there was left to do was practice the graduation ceremony which will take place in exactly 5 days. I hope Jacob will be back by then. Even though I am angry, as well at him as at myself, I still wanted him to graduate. And as the loyal girlfriend that I am, I stayed a little longer in school than the other students today to once again assure the principal that Jacob would be back in time for graduation. Apparently he was freaking out that one of the students wouldn't show up and that would mess with his time table.

He finally seemed to take me on my word and promised to me that he would leave Jacob's name in the list of the students. I felt pretty good about the fact that I had been able to reassure the principal and that Jacob would be back in two days, if I was lucky. That way we could fight over the fact that he once again lied to me and that I made him promise selfish things to me. Then we'll talk it out and get over it. Whatever it will be, I'm sure it can't be worse than all the anger and guilt I've been feeling these past days.

"Erin!"

I really shouldn't have turned around. I should have just kept walking toward the exit and get out of here as fast as I could. If I had done that, Bill Kholden wouldn't once again be talking to me.

"How were your finals?" He asked.

I really don't get that guy. One moment he's being nice to me and talking as if we've been good friends our entire lives and then the other he's clenching my arm in a tight grip and pushing me against the lockers. I never know when to be annoyed with him and when to be afraid of him.

"Good." I shrugged, trying to act nonchalant and still making my way over to the door that will set me free.

"Yeah, me too. I had actually expected it to be a lot harder. Now at least I know for a fact that I'll be graduating by the end of the week."

He kept talking to me but I was trying to subtly walk a little faster.

"Anyway, you excited about the dance?"

"What dance?" I made the mistake of stopping and turning around towards him before I made it to the safety of my car.

"THE dance. You know, the last one before we graduate. It's tomorrow."

Shoot! I had completely forgotten about that. Going to the dance isn't really something that occupies my mind the entire time but it was kind of strange that Jackie didn't mention it to me once. Sure, she and I don't really talk much these days but I should have at least heard her say something about it to Kim.

"Oh, right." I mumbled.

"So, I was thinking I'd pick you up at nine?"

Here we go again. What do I do? Do I tell him flat out no or will that just cause him to turn into a psycho again? I don't want to go to the dance with him. The only one I want to go with is Jacob and he won't be here which means I'm not going.

"I don't have a dress." Is what I went for eventually. "So I'm not going."

"There's still plenty of time to go shopping for one. I'll take you to port Angeles if you want."

"Look Bill, I really don't want to go with you."

Since I don't want to know his reaction, I'd say it was a pretty smart move of me to quickly walk to my car. Almost there, just a few metres... And that's when he almost broke my shoulder with the force he used to pull my arm back.

"You don't want to go with me?" He shouted.

Of course at moments like these there is always no one around. I also know none of the pack will come to my rescue because they were once again at the Cullens' house.

"I don't."

My temporary bravery didn't do much good. He looked livid. He pushed me against a car and was once again way to close to my liking.

"What the hell are you doing?" I wanted to shout but it came out all squeaky and high.

And then he pushed his lips against mine. What the fuck! I tried to push him away but for someone who is not a shape-shifter, he's still way too strong for me. I tried to bite his lip really hard so he'd let go but apparently he likes that. I started to panic because there was no one around and I was no match for Bill's anger. Now it's just a kiss but who knows how far he'll take this.

Out of the blue his body that had been pressed almost painfully against mine was gone. Without realising it I had closed my eyes. When I opened them again I saw Bill Kholden lying on the ground, like a bloody mess while Jacob kept punching his face which gave an awful crunch every time his fist hit Kholden's nose, jaw, pretty much everything you can break in your face.

My heart quite literally stopped when I relised Jacob, my Jacob was standing in the parking lot. I wanted to hug him for saving me as well as coming back sooner than intended but he was kind of scaring me. The look in his eyes was pure hatred and it scared me to see no trace of my kind Jacob. But I should do something to stop him. Kholden didn't even seem conscious to me anymore and if I don't do anything he'll be dead.

"Jacob, stop." I tried to stay firmly but my voice was still a little shaky.

He did stop. He looked at me but if I had hoped that me saying his name would somehow soften the look on his face, I was sorely disappointed. Now he was just directing the hard look at me. Did he want to punch me in the face as well? It definitely looked like it.

"Jacob?" I whispered knowing very well he heard me loud and clear.

He was still wearing that awfully mean expression on his face when he turned around and ran to the woods to phase. Well, that was definitely not how I had pictured his return. In my imagination there was always a lot of goggling, him begging on his knees for me to tell him what he had done wrong that I ignored him the past few days, followed by a very elaborate kissing session. Not once did it end up with me standing all alone in the parking lot with a bleeding Bill Kholden lying on the ground.

Oh, fuck! What am I supposed to do with the half dead boy lying there? He totally deserved to get his ass kicked but Jacob did a little more than that. Bill Kholden might be a creep but he shouldn't die and I'd feel really guilty if I let him. Do I call 911? If so, what am I supposed to tell them? I can't really say that Jacob did that to his face and that it's such a mess because he happens to have shape-shifting powers. I don't want Jacob to get into trouble. Maybe I could still call an ambulance and just tell them that I have no idea what happened. But then I'd have to lie to the paramedics. I don't know if I'm a very convincing liar.

The half dying moan that came from the body made me decide to call an ambulance anyway. Let's just hope I can talk my way out of it.

By the time the ambulance finally showed up, all the people who had still been in the school had gathered around Kholden to see what had happened. I already told them all that that's how I found him so I had some training on the lying part now.

"One of you can ride in the ambulance." One of the paramedics told us once they rolled Kholden in the ambulance.

"Erin should go." Mrs Benson suggested.

What? No way!

"We're leaving right now so please get in."

"I shouldn't go. A... a teacher should go!"

"We're going to contact his family. I'm sure he'd be glad to see you by his bed side when he wakes up. You're in tutoring together."

How does that make me the perfect person to go with him to the hospital? First he almost forces himself on me and now I have to go hold his hand?

"I'm not going!"

"Why not?"

Now here's the problem. I would love nothing more than to tell my teacher what a little creep Kholden really is and what he tried to do to me but if I do that, she'll realise I had something to do with him ending up as a bloody mess on the ground. So what choice did I have other than getting in the ambulance with him? But there is no way I'm staying there long enough to see him wake up.

"You should hold his hand. It helps the patient." The paramedic who rode in the back with me said.

Oh for the love of God! But the paramedic was staring at me as if not holding his hand made me a terrible human being so I held the bastard's hand the entire ride.

When we arrived at the hospital, I had every intention to get out of there as fast as I could but then I overheard the conversation between the paramedic and the doctor.

"What do we have here?" The doctor asked him.

"They found him in the parking lot at his high school. Someone beat him up pretty badly."

"Well, as soon as we're done with him we'll call the police so they can take his statement."

Fuck! Kholden probably still remembers everything that happened including the fact that Jacob is the one who crushed his entire face. He'll be in a lot of trouble if Kholden tells the police who did that to him. So I'll have to make sure that he doesn't tell the police anything. I don't know yet how I'm going to do that but it does mean I'll have to stay at the hospital until he wakes up.

It turns out he was awake half an hour after he was brought into the hospital. Great, right? No, because I wasn't allowed to go see him.

"Can I go see him?" I didn't even try to sound concerned for his wellbeing. I don't care how many bones he broke.

"I'm afraid not. He is awake right now but only family is allowed. Also the police will have to talk to him first. They are on their way." The doctor told me.

What was I supposed to do now? I have to make sure that he won't tell anyone it was Jacob but how am I supposed to do that if I don't even know where he is? I could always try to sneak into his room but Forks hospital is still too big to go knock on everyone's door.

Or... I could just go knocking on one door, Dr. Cullen's office. He definitely owes the pack a lot and this would help Jacob. So I took the elevator to the second floor and luck was finally on my side because he was there. He might as well have been at home, preparing for when the royal vampires come.

"Come in." He answered when I knocked on the door. I might not like vampires but Dr. Cullen is okay and a little courtesy never killed anyone.

"Erin?"

"Hi, I need your help with something."

"Of course. How can I help you?"

"I need to get into the room of Bill Kholden. He was brought in about forty minutes ago."

Apparently every doctor has access to all the patient files of the hospital but they're not really allowed to use that access whenever they please. But since the pack has done a lot for the Cullens, he decided to help me out.

"He's in room D1.25. Do you want me to bring you there?"

"No, that's okay. I can just walk in, right?"

He nodded. I thanked him and took off to go find Kholden. I found the room pretty easily. Luckily for me there weren't a lot of people in the hallway and it was really easy to sneak into his room. It was a room for two people but fortunately only one of the beds was occupied.

Bill Kholden looked just as badly as he did in the parking lot except that now his face was almost completely covered up with bandages though I could still see the bruises covering his entire face. For a moment I worried he wouldn't be able to talk to me since Jacob might have broken his jaw.

"How did you get in?"

Well, he could still talk though it came out pretty gibberishly to me.

"Through the door." I shrugged.

"Were you worried about me?"

"No."

His face fell a little when I told him that as far as I can judge with all the bandages.

"I just wanted to make sure you tell the police the right story when they come by."

"I'll tell them the truth and then Black will not bother us anymore."

"You bother me! And if you tell the police that it was Jacob who did that to you, I'll tell them what you did."

"What I did? I was just kissing you."

"Against my will and might I add that you were pressing your body against mine once again against my will! That's sexual harassment. I'm pretty sure that's against the law."

He suddenly looked a little frightened. Well, at least he's no longer pretending that it was consensual.

"You wouldn't do that." He whispered.

"Oh, but I would. At least if you tell the police it was Jacob. If you don't, then I won't say anything either."

"Fine." He huffed.

"You'll also leave me alone from now on."

"What?"

"You don't talk to me, you don't look at me. You just disappear from my radar."

He didn't seem to like that condition but I was praying he'd agree to it. This might be the only way to ever get rid of him.

"Okay?" I asked him.

"Okay." He sighed.

"Good." I nodded before leaving the room.

So I guess I finally solved the Kholden problem, or maybe Jacob did. Speaking of Jacob, what am I supposed to do about him? He definitely didn't look like he wanted to talk to me when I saw him an hour ago. Should I just wait until he comes around? I should stay away from him when he's on a war path, ...I think. I've never seen Jacob on a war path before. I'll guess I'll just wait for him to show up on my doorstep.

But he didn't. I waited the entire night after I had walked all the way back from Forks and he didn't show up. Was he still that upset?

So the next day I decided I was not waiting like some poor damsel for the hero to finally come home. I drove to his house but according to Billy he wasn't home. That means he's probably doing some stuff for Sam. Fine, I've got time.

I had been sitting in front of his house for over an hour when a figure finally stepped out of the forest. As everyone in the pack the person only wore pants and nothing else except the chiselled abs. But the strange part was that I didn't recognise the person.

"Hi Erin."

But apparently he knew me.

"Hi?"

"Don't you recognise me?"

I shook my head because I really had no idea who this was.

"It's me: Alex."

Well, in my defence I haven't seen the guy since he left for college a few years back. And it's not like we were close or anything. His brother was just my brother's best friend.

"Oh, wow. You definitely changed."

"Yes, one of the perks of being a shape-shifter." He grinned.

One of the perks? He seems to be taking this whole thing way better than his brother.

"What are the other perks then?" I asked him.

"Well, there's the super senses and imprinting."

"You want to imprint?" I cocked my eyebrow at him.

Of course I think imprinting in general is a good thing but most members of the pack don't agree on that. The only ones who like imprinting are usually the ones who have already found their soul mate.

"I do want her, more than anything."

The distant look on his face looks familiar, like a blind man...

"You already imprinted."

It wasn't a question. I had seen that look countless times. I can recognise it in a second.

"Yes! She's amazing and so beautiful. Most people think she can be a little mean but she has such a big heart behind the mask." He sighed like a fool in love.

"Who is she? Is she from La Push?" I asked him because it would really suck if she was all the way back in Florida.

"Yeah, she is."

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" A hard voice interrupted our conversation.

I almost hadn't recognised Jacob's voice because he usually doesn't use such a hard tone. I hadn't noticed him coming out of the woods behind Alex either. He still looked pretty damn angry and hostile to me. Alex seemed to notice it as well because he quickly mumbled some excuse and took off. Now I'm all alone with Jacob but I'm not too excited about it.

_And?_


	81. Back to normal?

_Wow! You reviewed like crazy this week! Thank you! I loved loved loved it! So a realy huge thank you to __**SundaySolis, it'smeD, nene082743, The Red Crayon, wolfiegirl4ever, weasleytwins12, harrellgirl, Alenerien, cdewild, embleu44, bookfreak345, wolfhappiness, ForeverTeamEdward13, Imprinting Magic, Joey, Brdrama94, danastarry, werewolf lover8, Rio lover, brneyez, sPaRkzZz, vanilla12ish, kikikiki, jules, AnnechanB, Wasipi, snarkychic13, jemmamaree, Alaina08, Guest, MusicIsForever, **__and __**XxxPrettyxxxGirlxxX!**_

_So firstly I'm afraid I have to disappoint you :( I'm going to explore Croatia with my backpack for 2 weeks which means I will not be able to update until I get back. I feel kind of bad about that (not the vacation of course) because it will be the first time that you will have to wait longer than a week for an update. But to make up for it, I made this chapter extra long. Someone said they thought my chapters were a little short (around 3.000 words) and even though I would love nothing more than to make longer chapters for you, I'll be sticking to that amount of words because it's really hard to make a longer chapter. Sorry, but for this one time I made it longer. The chapter counts 4.500 words and was actually meant as two chapters but I merged it together for you. :D_

_Plus I decided to be nice and didn't end this chapter with a cliffie... Maybe... _

_Apparently I still make some spelling mistakes in my story (bare with me, it's not my mother language) but if you see a mistake, feel free to tell me. I'd really hate to make it again. _

_So wouldn't it be awesome if I logged on again and the story would have hit 1.250 reviews? :D _

**Chapter 81**

The silence was almost painful and I seemed to be the only one bothered by it. Jacob was still standing a few feet away from me, wearing that horrible hard expression.

"Aren't you going to say something?" I finally broke the silence.

Anything would be good. But he was still just standing there, not saying a word.

"Fine, I'll go first. I should not have ignored you these past few days. I was upset and I took it out in a juvenile way but that's just who I am and you know that."

"You really think that's the reason I'm angry?" He suddenly growled at me.

That took me by surprise because he's never intentionally growled at me like that.

"Yeah?"

What else would he be angry about? As far as I know I didn't really do anything wrong. Maybe he meant the fact that I didn't tell him about Kholden bothering me.

"Is this about Bill Kholden? Because I wanted to tell you sooner but then the Florida trip came up and-"

"Sooner?" He yelled. "How long has this been going on? When I was in Florida thinking of you the entire time and hoping I would see you again soon, you were doing God knows what with that guy!"

I'm so confused now. What is he talking about?

"What are you... Do you... Did you think I was kissing him?" I asked him completely appalled by the idea that he would think such a thing.

"It doesn't take a genius to figure out what was happening in that parking lot yesterday!"

"Apparently it does. I was not kissing him back, I was trying to push him off me!"

"He's not that strong." He replied coldly.

"Maybe not to a shape-shifter but he's definitely too strong for me."

I cannot believe this. Does Jacob honestly think I would want to kiss Bill Kholden? The idea alone makes me gag.

"You didn't... kiss him?"

"No! Why would I do that? Why would I want to do that? Bill Kholden is freaky and a creep and he does not understand the word 'no'."

"I thought..."

Jacob didn't finish his sentence but I know now what he had been thinking.

"Yeah, I know what you thought. Thanks for your trust." I huffed.

"It really looked like... And you just said that it had been going on for a while now."

"I meant that he had tried a similar thing before, the day you told me about going to Florida."

"Did he hurt you?"

At least now he was sounding once again like the Jacob I know and love. I shook my head but he didn't seem to think that my answer was clear enough.

"What did he do?"

I didn't want to think about anything that had happened between me and Kholden but Jacob wouldn't just forget about it. I sighed.

"He pushed me against the lockers and yelled at me. He didn't get the chance to try and kiss me then."

"I'm going to kill him!" He growled angrily but I was just glad it wasn't addressed to me now.

"You already attempted that." I responded dryly.

"He's not dead?"

"Do you want him to be?" I frowned.

"Yes."

Yeah, right! If Jacob ever killed an 'innocent' person a.k.a a human being, he would never be able to forgive himself even if that person was a bastard like Bill Kholden.

"He's not dead, he's at the hospital. He also promised he won't tell anyone it was you who disfigured his face like that."

"Why would he do that?"

"Because he doesn't want me pressing charges against him for sexual harassment."

"But you should do that."

"If it makes sure he won't say anything about you, it's fine. Besides I don't think he'll ever attempt such a thing again."

"If you're not seeing someone else, then how come you haven't answered any of my calls these past few days?"

"Because I've been kind of angry with you." And myself.

"Why?" He sounded pained.

"Because you didn't tell me you volunteered to go to Florida instead of being forced by Sam like you made me believe."

He looked guilty now and slightly surprised that I knew. I guess he hadn't expected anyone in the pack to tell me the truth.

"You never would have let me go if you knew I volunteered."

"True." I nodded.

"I just wanted to help out the pack."

"Like you've been helping them out by taking over everyone's patrol?" I cocked an eyebrow.

"Who have you been talking to?" He asked me suspiciously.

"Leah." I shrugged.

"Great, I am not helping her now."

"Helping her with what?"

"Can we focus on us right now instead of Leah?" He sighed.

I nodded. I didn't know what we could still talk about but he was obviously still bothered by something.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"You had a lot on your mind and I didn't want to give you something else to worry about. Plus in the beginning all Kholden did was ask me out."

"You have to tell me things like that, else I start thinking..."

"Stupid things." I finished his sentence for him.

"Yeah." He sighed.

"But if I have to tell you everything, the same goes for you. You cannot keep hiding things from me. It makes me feel like you don't trust me or that you think you can't talk to me."

When I said that, he looked upset once again. Had he really not thought about the fact that hiding things from me, upsets me?

"I'm sorry." He said and I know he really meant it.

Our fight didn't really go as I had expected but that's just because not in a million years had I thought about the possibility that Jacob was delusional enough to think I'd want to be with Bill Kholden instead of him. But not all my expectations were shattered yet. I was still going to get my welcome-back-kiss.

"So... just out of curiosity, how often did you think about me?" I half smiled.

"Do you really need an answer to that question?"

"Yes, but it don't have to be words." I smirked.

He finally moved from his spot way too far away from where I was standing and made his way over to me.

The kiss wasn't the hot and passionate one I had been waiting for but tender and lovingly is just as good. I had really missed him, everything about him; his smile, his lips, his eyes, his warm embrace. He's never leaving, ever again. Next time he gets such a crazy idea, I'm coming with him.

"It's the dance tonight." Jacob suddenly spoke when we had been sitting outside, silently for almost an hour now.

"I know."

"Do you want to go?"

"Not really." I shrugged.

"Are you sure? It's supposed to be this big deal to girls."

"Are you saying I'm a typical girl?" I turned completely in his embrace to face him.

"No," He smiled. "But it is the last dance, ever at our high school."

"I'd rather just spend the evening with you."

"I wasn't going to let you go alone to the dance."

Well, I know that but we'd be surrounded by other people; girls staring at my Jacob and glaring at my back, the pack who always interferes in private moments and all kinds of people I don't want to spend my first evening that Jacob's back with. I want him all to myself.

"It's just a dance, Jacob. I want to spend tonight with you, only you."

"Okay, but we're not just spending the evening on the couch in front of the television." He smiled.

"We're not?"

"No, you are going home to put on a fancy dress and I'll pick you up in an hour."

He expected me to be ready in an hour? I might not be a typical girl in every department but I still need a lot of time to get ready. Especially if I want to dazzle him with my looks. That takes a lot of work and time. I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Fine, an hour and a half but that's all you're getting." He sighed.

I smiled, kissed him gently on the lips and got into my car. I only had one hour and a half to get ready but the thing is, I don't even know what I'm getting ready for. So when I got out of the shower and was trying to decide what to wear, I was facing a problem. The solution to it was calling Jacob and asking him where the hell we were going.

"What exactly are we going to do tonight?" I asked him once he picked up the phone.

"It's a surprise."

I rolled my eyes at his answer. I should have seen that one coming. He knows damn well I don't like surprises but at the same time I know very well that he does.

"You're just saying that because you have no idea yourself where you're going to take me." I grinned.

"I do know where we're going." His answer came quickly.

"Really? Then why won't you tell me?"

"Because that's the whole point of it being a surprise."

"Liar." I grinned even though I wasn't sure if I was right, just teasing him about it is fun enough.

"I'm picking you up in one hour, Erin. You better be ready."

"How am I supposed to get dressed if I don't even know where we're going? If you don't even know where we're going?"

"One hour." He ignored what I just said and hung up.

Pfff, fine but if I'm under- or overdressed it's all his fault. I eventually decided to go with a dark green dress that stopped just above my knee. Underneath it I wore my black pumps. I took a jacket with me even though I'm convinced I won't need it with the summer temperatures we've been having the past few days and Jacob's warm presence. I was just brushing my hair when the doorbell rang.

"You look beautiful." He smiled at me when I opened the door.

His comment almost made me blush. Almost, which means I didn't. But then he looked at me the way he sometimes does. As if he's seeing me again for the first time and he can't believe how lucky he is. Now that did make me blush.

He opened the door of his car for me. He's such a gentleman. I smiled at him when I got in. He closed the door and a second later he was sitting next to me, starting his engine. It's still amazing how fast he is sometimes.

"You're sure you don't want to go to the dance, right?" He asked me once again when we passed some kids on their way to school for the dance.

"I'm sure but you know, if you want to go we could."

Maybe he wanted to go to the dance and I hadn't even asked him that.

"No, I'm just fine with what we're going to do now." He grinned because he knows that not knowing where we're going, is driving me insane.

"Tease," I grumbled and he just laughed.

"Earlier today you said you weren't helping Leah anymore. What were you supposed to help her with?" I had let it slide at first that he didn't want to answer that question but I was really curious as to what she needed his help for. I had a really hard time getting her to accept my help.

"It's not really that she asked for my help." He laughed. "But she could definitely use it."

"You do know you're not making any sense to me, right?"

"Let's just say something happened to her yesterday that nobody saw coming."

Okay, something that nobody saw coming.

"Is she pregnant?" I gasped.

"No." He shook his head.

I thought it was a good guess after all she probably can't get pregnant because she's a shape-shifter and no longer has her period. Though there isn't really any proof that she can't bear children since she's the only female shifter ever.

So not pregnant. But Jacob could be of help, somehow...

"Did she find her imprint?" I gasped again.

"Not exactly."

"Will you please stop making me guess and just tell me already?" I got a little pissed.

"She didn't imprint. We're all thinking right now that she probably can't. Maybe female shifters just don't have that capacity."

"Then what did happen?"

"Someone imprinted on her."

... What? I couldn't say anything due to being in shock and just stared at Jacob with my mouth open. What?

"I know, it came as a shock to everyone. Especially Leah. When she realised why Alex was staring at her like that she-"

"Wait, wait! Alex? He imprinted on Leah?"

That is some strangely fucked up relation. I had no idea shape-shifters could imprint on each other. Pretty sure no one knew that.

"Yeah, he did. He told you about it earlier today, right?"

He did but I had no idea he was talking about Leah. Well, he had said that she had a pretty hard exterior. Honestly he kind of made her sound like a real bitch so I was actually thinking more along the lines of Tara Greenwell and Emma Hurley.

"What did she do? You were about to say how she reacted to it but I interrupted."

"She cursed a lot and got really angry. Then she punched him in the face and he let her."

"Why?"

"Because she's his imprint and if punching him makes her feel better, he'll gladly let her use him as a punching bag."

He's so lucky I never feel like hitting him. He'd let me? Because it would make me feel better? How messed up is that?

The rest of the ride we talked about Leah and Alex, probably to Jacob's dismay but I was just so shocked about the whole thing. I needed to talk about it. I also needed to tell Jacob about the deal I made with her.

"There's still something I have to tell you."

He stopped walking to wherever it is we were walking. I had never been here so I didn't recognise it. We were in a small town close to Port Angeles.

"What is it?" He panicked.

"Don't freak out, it's nothing bad. Just something that happened while you were gone." I reassured him.

"Okay..."

"Leah and I are going to Port Angeles Community College together next year."

"What?"

"Well, the other imprints told me that Leah wanted to go to college but she couldn't because she'd miss too much classes because of all the patrolling and also because she can't leave La Push. So I was thinking I could help her with that. I'm going to a college so close to the reservation that she could go there as well and since we'll be starting the year together and we do have mutual interest, we'll be in all the same classes. I figured I could help her that way pass classes. Sure, I'll have to pay a lot of attention and spend some time tutoring her but it's only a small price to pay for Leah's education. I know you might get a little mad because that does mean it will cut into our time together but I could plan it on moments that you have patrol so we won't really have less time to spend together. And fine, maybe I should have asked first what you thought about it but you were all the way in Florida and you hadn't even called in two days. So what if I made the decision in a spur of the moment kind of thing? I'm not regretting it so far and Leah really isn't as annoying as all of you always say she is. In truth I have to admit she's kind of-"

Here I was rambling my entire explanation to Jacob and he just cuts me off with a kiss. A really great kiss, yes but it's kind of rude to... Nope, the kiss is too good to actually get mad. I haven't had such a hot kiss in a long time. I wound my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me. I think I might have just heard him moan. That made me smile against his lips.

"You're so cute when you start rambling." He smiled once we pulled apart.

"I am not cute. It's not an adverb that suits me." I huffed.

"What about adorable?"

Who the hell would use 'adorable' to describe me? It makes me sound like a rainbow pony or a stuffed cuddly bear with strawberry scent.

"Adorable?" I frowned.

"I guess not. How about sexy?" He grinned.

"I can live with that." I tried to shrug casually.

He laughed and started walking again with my hand in his. I had surely missed this. I'm not so sure what 'this' is that I'm referring to. It's his smile, his laughter, the way his eyes light up, the playful banter between the two of us. I had missed it so much that the mere thought of not seeing him for just a minute was almost unbearable. How had I possibly survived those two weeks? Well during one of them I was mad at him and missing him always gets a little more bearable when I'm angry at him.

We eventually ended up at a fancy restaurant, a really fancy restaurant. There were at least ten waiters in fancy suits walking around the place to serve not even twenty tables. When we sat down at a table and I opened the menu, I almost fell off my seat when I noticed the prices.

"Jacob," I hissed under my breath. "This is way too expensive."

"It's okay." He smiled.

It was so no okay. Even if we took the cheapest thing on the menu, dinner was more than the worth of my car!

"You can't afford this." I said softly.

I didn't want to rub it in his face that he couldn't afford to buy me a fancy dinner but I especially don't want him to spend so much money on me. There are way better ways to spend it.

"I said it's okay."

I was not taking that as an answer. He either tells me he just won the lottery or we're having dinner somewhere else. I crossed my arms in front of my chest and waited for him to give me a proper answer.

"I'm not really going to pay for this." He sighed.

"We are not going to dine and dash!" I whisper yelled.

"That's not what I'm talking about at all, Erin." He smiled. "I have... sponsors."

"Huh?"

"Sam's kind of paying for tonight's dinner, well partially at least."

"Why would he do that?" I frowned.

"Because he feels bad about me being away for two weeks..."

Really? That doesn't sound like Sam. Don't get me wrong, he's a good guy but what kind of guy pays for someone else's dinner date?

"...And Emily made him."

Ah, the true reason is revealed. That makes more sense.

"That's really nice of them but they really shouldn't have."

"Apparently you've been whining a lot to Emily about my absence." He smiled, clearly happy about the fact that I had missed him. "She's also grateful that I went because if I didn't, it would have been Sam."

"They still shouldn't have done that. Now I feel guilty."

"Which is exactly the reason I wasn't going to say anything about it." He sighed.

I could have made a comment over the fact that he promised me he would tell me everything not even four hours ago but I didn't. He seemed upset over the fact that Sam and Emily paying for our dinner made me uncomfortable. I didn't want to ruin this evening.

"Let's just order." I smiled a little forced to change the topic.

He saw right through my feeble attempt at lightening the mood but he played along. Dinner was marvellous, I've never had better food in my life. The guilt kind of disappeared once I tasted the heavenly food. Jacob seemed pleased about that. We had just ordered dessert when he asked me a question.

"How are things going with Jackie?"

"What do you mean?"

"Before I left, you and her weren't really speaking much to each other. Have you made up with your best friend?"

"She's not my best friend, Jacob." I sighed. "I'm just fooling myself pretending that she and I are still what we used to be. I'm not sure we're even friends anymore."

"But you've known her your whole life." He frowned.

"I've known Tara Greenwell my whole life as well. I've known you for only a year and you've become the most important person in my life. Time doesn't mean anything."

"Did you talk about it with her?"

"No. If she's not even going to acknowledge what is wrong between us, what has been wrong for a while now, I don't want to put any more energy in it."

"I'm sorry." He said.

"You don't have to be sorry about it. It's not your fault."

"In a way it is."

I frowned. How could Jacob possible be to blame for Jackie not being a good friend anymore?

"It's because I came in your life."

No, it's because Embry came into her life. Thought that's not the truth either. The truth is it's because Jackie no longer valued friendship when she found her true love, her soul mate. I'm not saying it's all her fault but honestly? It kind of is.

"Don't say that. "I sighed. "Nothing bad will ever come from loving you."

He smiled warmly at me and that meant the conversation as over. For the rest of the evening we talked about graduation, the pack and just random stuff with almost no value to us. But it was so nice, just being with Jacob again and chatting away with an occasional kiss and a lustful glance.

Jacob had slept once again in my bed and it was the best sleep I've had in such a long time even though I have to admit we didn't spend most of the night sleeping. At freaking seven o'clock in the morning someone was banging on my front door. My dad must have only just gone to bed and there's no way Bryan will drag his lazy bum out of his bed to see who the troublemaker is at the door. Since I didn't want my dad or Jacob to wake up, I was the one who quickly tiptoed downstairs in my PJ to see who it was.

"Leah?"

It came as a pretty big surprise to find the only female shape-shifter standing at my door at seven o'clock in the morning. The strange part was that she seemed kind of frantic and it didn't seem like she had slept much judging by the bags under her eyes.

"I know it's very early and we're not even friends or anything but I didn't have anyone else to go to."

I wonder if she's aware of how pleading her eyes look right now. It made me take pity on her and I know she wouldn't want that.

"Do you want to come in?" I asked her lamely.

"Is Jacob there?"

"Yes..."

"I'd rather stay out here if that's okay."

I don't see why it matter whether or not Jacob is in my house but apparently it did. I eventually closed the front door behind me and joined her on our porch.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I tried after a few minutes of silence while she kept pacing back and forth as if she was about to announce to me that the world was going to end tonight.

"Not really. I prefer to just not think about it anymore and just stuff it in a box that I can burry, or throw in the ocean, or set on fire. But I can't. Because it's there, it happened and not talking about it won't make it go away." She almost hyperventilated.

"Calm down, Leah and explain to me what it is exactly that you're rambling about."

She finally stopped pacing and looked at me.

"Alex Longfree imprinted on me."

I laughed. I know I shouldn't have but the idea that Alex imprinting on Leah was the reason she turned into a stuttering mess was funny in a messed up way. She didn't appreciate my reaction and gave me one of the coldest glares I had ever seen on her face and she's really good at that.

"I'm sorry, it's just that... I don't see the problem. Isn't that a good thing? Isn't that what you wanted?"

"No, this is not what I wanted at all. I was prepared for me imprinting on someone. I was even prepared for staying alone for the rest of my life but not in a million years did I consider this possibility!"

I can't say she was alone on that. I'm sure the entire pack was surprised with how this turned out.

"You might not have imprinted on him but he imprinted on you. It's the same thing." I said.

"It's not the same thing!" She shouted angrily. "I don't know him, I do not feel connected to him. I just have a love sick puppy following me around."

This time I did suppress my smile because I was afraid she'd try to kill me if I once again laughed at her problem. Which I still don't think is a real problem.

"Don't you remember that I said imprinting is two-sided?" I reminded her of the conversation she had heard between me and Seth a while ago.

"Exactly. I should be feeling something, anything, a pull towards him but I don't. What if I'm just so messed up that even imprinting won't fix me?" She said the last part in a hushed tone.

"You're not but this takes time. You think I immediately wanted to throw myself at Jacob the moment I met him? No, this thing will creep up on you without you even realising it."

"So now I just have to be with someone I don't even feel anything for?" She asked.

"No, you don't have to do anything. But you know that it's hard for the wolf to be away from his imprint so just hang out with him, get to know him. Just because you already know about imprinting doesn't mean this has to be any different than the way it was with me."

"Get to know him?" She frowned.

"Yes."

She seemed to finally calm down. I guess her knowing about imprinting didn't make this easier on them. Instead it might have made it harder because now she'll practically have to force herself to spend time with him because she knows she'll eventually fall in love with him. It will pay off in the long run. I know it will.

_Did this answer everything you had been worrying about? I was surprised that so many people thought Alex might have imprinted on Erin. It was never my intention to make it seem that way, so nice twist you made on my own story ;) I had said before (or maybe that was in a pm) that I don't like double imprints so you'll never see something like that in my story. No worries, she belongs completely to Jacob. Who knew it was Leah though? _


	82. Graduation Day

_I'm back! And I was very glad to read all the reviews. Thank you so much for loving my story. I just got back three hours ago but I just couldn't wait to post another chapter. I'm not going to say much more, just hope you enjoy this. :)_

_Thank you __**Guest, Imprinting Magic, ForeverTeamEdward13, bookfreak345, xXMizz Alec VolturiXx, wolfhappiness, nozer4eva, Holiday Girl, kikikiki, Adids14, The Red Crayon, danastarry, sPaRkzZz, Alaina08, SundaySolis, Sugar-Ice, AnimeLoverGirl1324, lionandthelamblove7, brb bbe, jules, harrellgirl, ucancallmebob, Geneviieve, lovesong101 **__and __**Jacobs Imprint916!**_

**Chapter 82**

Graduation day! I was nervous, for several reasons. 1. I might trip over the ridiculously large and unflattering toga. 2. Jacob has to see me in this ridiculously large and unflattering toga. 3. I'm wearing a ridiculously large and unflattering toga! So it's really all about the looks.

It was also bound to be an embarrassing day because for some reason my dad won't stop getting teary eyes and tell me how proud he is of me. God, I hope he won't do that in public once we get to the school. Bryan was having fun with it though. He was actually surprisingly chipper and that's not really a word that applies to him... ever!

"I just can't believe my baby girl is graduating today. It seems like yesterday when I was potty training you." My dad sniffed from behind the steering wheel.

"Dad!"

"That's a nice anecdote, maybe you should tell some of her friends that story." Bryan laughed from the back seat.

"Shut up!" I told my brother with a blush on my face, thinking about the pack's reaction to such a story. I would never survive the embarrassment.

When we made it to the school I was almost reluctant to leave my dad and brother, afraid they were going to do something really embarrassing to me. Unfortunately I kind of had to. All the students were supposed to sit down at their assigned seats. I quickly found my seat next to Jared's. I just hope he won't keep talking about how amazing Kim looks today. How come she can pull off this toga?

"Hey, you ready to graduate?" He smiled at me.

I nodded. As much as I had been looking up against the end of the year and the summer, I couldn't deny the fact that I was actually excited today. This was a step towards adulthood, towards my future, my future with Jacob. Who wouldn't be excited about that?

Jamie Walton was valedictorian, big surprise there! She gave some speech about us embarking on a great adventure. She has no idea how right she is about that. The whole ceremony kind of passed in a blur and before I knew it I was standing once again with my father and brother who congratulated me with graduating.

"I'm so proud of you." My dad almost sobbed.

"Please don't start crying." I sighed. "People are staring."

They were. I could see some other parents staring at my dad as if he was some emotional woman. In his defence he always was both mother and father to me. Someone should be emotional on this day and it sure as hell wasn't going to be me or Bryan.

"I'm proud of you too." Bryan said with a smile.

Things haven't drastically changed between me and him. We still fight like only we can and we piss each other off to no end. But that's okay, it's just the way we are. The sibling kind who tease each other mercilessly but still love each other in the end? I finally know the answer. We are like that.

"Congratulations Erin." Billy Black smiled at me as well.

"You too." I smiled. "For your son I mean."

"Yes, I'm very glad Jacob graduated. Thank you."

"Dad, this is Billy Black. He's Jacob's dad." I introduced them to each other.

"I know who Billy Black is, Erin. Hi Billy." My dad shook his hand.

Good, they get along. That will come in handy for the future. I figured this would be the perfect moment to find Jacob. I hadn't seen him at all today, except for the moment where he was being called to the front but that doesn't really count.

I found him eventually, talking to Emma Hurley. When he saw me staring at the two of them, he quickly came up to me.

"What did she want?" I tried to act nonchalant about it but their interaction pissed me off. I thought he hated her too.

"She gave me her address in LA, where she'll be going to college next year."

"Why?"

"She wants me to come look her up."

"Will you?"

"Are you serious? I'm never going anywhere near her again. Plus I can't leave La Push and on one of the rare moments that Sam would let me, I won't be spending it with her." He smiled at me.

That's a pretty good answer. At least it brought the smile back to my face. I took his face in my hands and gave him a quick kiss.

"Congratulations, by the way." I smiled.

"You too." He kissed me back.

Since we're at the school right now, surround by parents including my own father, I had to pull away before we got a carried away.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." I answered.

But he didn't ask me what he wanted to. Instead he just pulled me gently by the hand to a more secluded part.

"What is it?"

"Well, I've been thinking about next year. I don't need to go to college, I didn't really want to in the first place but I do have to make something out of my life. So me and Sam started talking about it and he suggested that I'd open a mechanic shop in La Push. The closest one is two towns further and I'm already fixing up people's cars. Now I'd just ask money for it."

I smiled. That suits him. He loves fixing up cars and opening a mechanic shop right here would be something he'd be happy with. That's all I want for him.

"I still haven't heard a question." I said once Jacob stopped talking.

"Would that be okay?"

Why was he asking for my permission? Surely he knows that I want for him what makes him happy. This is all his decision.

"I don't understand what you're asking me." I frowned.

"Would it be enough? If I was just a mechanic?" He asked.

"Of course." I cupped his face. "You are more than enough for me. You're even a little overwhelming sometimes but I like that. Why are you asking me this?"

"I just want to make you happy. That's the only thing that matters to me." He said.

"Opening a mechanic shop will make you happy and if you're happy, I'm happy. Everybody wins."

"You wouldn't prefer it if I were a doctor?"

"Hospitals freak me out, including the people who work there."

"Or a lawyer?"

"They're sneaky little bastards."

"A fancy business man?"

"No, they're cold hearted people." I told him while putting my arms around his neck and pulling him closer to me. "I want a mechanic because they have this big warm heart that I love. And you look really attractive covered in grease."

He laughed but at least it didn't seem to bother him anymore.

"I should go tell my dad."

"What are you waiting for?"

He looked at me.

"I don't... Just, wait here, okay? I'll be back really soon."

I nodded and watched him get back to the crowd with a smile. I was actually happy today. My future with Jacob was starting to take form and I kind of liked where it was all heading.

"Congratulations Erin." I heard from behind me.

I turned around with a smile but that quickly disappeared when I recognised the person standing behind me. I had only seen him once but I'll never forget his face and especially the expression it held when I burst into his house to go yell at his wife. He had thick black hair and a skin dark enough to pass as half-Quileute though I know he isn't. It did explain why I had not noticed him in the crowd earlier. Mason Cobbs had a friendly face but all I looked at was the little girl sitting on his arm. She had a cute little face and her father's thick black hair. The eyes however were the same as our mother's eyes. The three-year old girl with who I shared a mother, looked up at me with the big blue eyes that I hated.

"I hope it's okay that we're here today. We didn't want to miss your big day." He smiled at me.

Why was this man acting as if he was my uncle of some sort? Well, technically he was my stepfather but I had no intention of actually bonding with this man. He loves my mother. That's reason enough for me to dislike him.

"What are you doing here?" I tried not to look at the little girl.

"I know you're probably not happy to see me. Your father wasn't too excited about this either."

He talked to my dad! Why? To rub in the fact that my mother had found another man to love? That's just cruel.

"That might be an understatement." I replied coldly.

"We didn't start of on the right foot. I just... never knew Stacey had another daughter." I am not the other daughter! "We didn't actually get the chance to talk by the way you stormed into my house."

Was he trying to make me feel guilty about it? Because that's not going to happen.

"After you left, Stacey told me about you and Bryan, and your father. I don't want to defend her but... she was so unhappy here."

Pfff, I don't care about that. You know who was unhappy? My dad, because he lost his wife. Me and Bryan, because we grew up without a mother. There's no way in hell I'll ever have any pity for her.

"I know you don't like you're mother but I want you to understand her. Do you know what being manic means?"

"Yes." I whispered.

"She's been diagnosed with it for a couple of years now. She takes medication for it but it can't do wonders. She has moments of extreme happiness and then moments of extreme depression. During those moments of depression she can make reckless decisions like for example leaving her children behind."

"No. You can't explain what she did by that diagnose. You can't tell me that for the past nine years she hasn't had one moment during which she should have regretted leaving us."

I knew what manic was but it was no explanation for what happened.

"I'm not trying to change your mind about this. She just didn't like thinking about what she did or her life here, it makes her depressed. I just thought it's something you need to know about her especially because..."

"Because what? "

He seemed almost reluctant to tell me. But since I kept glaring at him, he eventually told me.

"Because it can be genetic."

Genetic? I can have that? That is probably one of the scariest thoughts in the world. I don't want that, I don't want to be like her.

"You don't have to be afraid of that. It's only genetic in one out of five cases. Plus that theory isn't really waterproof."

But I wasn't really listening to that. All I could think about was me doing the same to Jacob as my mother did to my dad. I didn't want to do that, I didn't want to be like that. It would break my heart to break his.

"Is that all you wanted?" I eventually said.

I just wanted this man to go away. So far he has done nothing but make me sad on what was supposed to be a happy day, on what had been a happy day until the moment he showed up.

"No, I want... I want to know you."

What?

"You're Angela's sister. I don't have any family left and I never met Stacey's family. I don't even know if she still has family members alive, I didn't even know she had two children. I want Angela to be surrounded by family while growing up. She'll need it now that Stacey has left."

"She left?"

"Yeah, I guess history likes to repeat itself."

The pain was still fresh, I could see it in his eyes. My mother had hurt this man just as much as she had hurt my father, and he was still defending her in front of me.

"I'm sorry."

I meant it. I might not like this man just because he was my mother's new husband but he did not deserve to go through the same thing my father did.

"But that does not change anything."

I still didn't want to know this man, or the little girl sitting on his arm. Because all I thought about when I looked at the two of them was, 'Why were they better than us?'. And I don't want to think that.

"I spoke to your father and your brother earlier today. Bryan was actually excited about being a big brother to Angela."

I rolled my eyes. Of course Bryan did once again not share my opinion.

"And your father said it was okay to come by your house from time to time."

That surprised me. Why would my dad be okay with that? He's supposed to hate this man.

"But only if you're okay with it. I too want you to be okay with all of this. I understand that this might all be a little overwhelming so I'll leave you now to think about all of it. We're staying at Forks Hotel. We'll be waiting for your answer."

And then he left, with the little girl waving at me. What was I supposed to do with all of this? I don't want them here. Me sleeping over it, won't change my opinion. But that little girl might. She had our mother's nose, my nose. And our mother's smile, Bryan's smile.

"Sorry it took so long but apparently everybody wants to shake my hand today." Jacob came back smiling. "Who was that man?"

"I don't know. Some stranger." I told him before hugging him for dear life.

"You okay?" he asked concerned, stroking my hair.

"I'm fine." I lied.

"Erin-"

"Let's go find the pack. There's that barbeque at Sam and Emily's, right?"

He nodded and we both went looking for the others.

_Who saw the Mason Cobbs twist coming? _


	83. Like her

_Thanks to all the lovely people who reviewed: __**SundaySolis, brneyez, ForeverTeamEdward13, Alaina08, Guest, kikikiki, Alenerien, Mebs2010, cullensrule, nene82743, lovesong101, werewolf lover8, MusicIsForever, adids14, Trunk'sfallenAngel **__and the __**6 Guests.**_

_Hope you like this chapter as well._

**Chapter 83**

My dad, Bryan and I drove back to our house from where I'd go to Sam and Emily's afterwards. The silence was awkward and almost cold. We were all thinking about the same thing but no one said it.

When we were still a few blocks away from home, Bryan opened his mouth.

"I think we should let them in our lives."

"What?" I snapped at him.

"She's our half-sister, Erin."

"Yeah, emphasis on half, the bad half!"

"That doesn't matter. She didn't do anything wrong. She needs us."

"No, she doesn't. That Cobbs guy needs us because he's just too chicken to raise his daughter on his own."

"Erin," My dad interfered. "It doesn't matter that he needs our help, just take your time and think about what you want."

I knew what I wanted. I wanted both of them to get back to Portland or maybe even to the other side of the US and leave us alone.

"Well, I already know what I want and I want Angela to stay here." Bryan said.

"You never know what you want. You also wanted to go live with our mother, see how well that turned out." I bit back.

"Erin!" My dad reprimanded me but at least Bryan shut up until we got home.

I quickly changed my clothes and drove to Sam and Emily's place. Even though I don't really feel like having idle chitchat with the pack, I really don't want to be in the same house as the people who think it's okay to have our mother's new family around. When I arrived at their house, there weren't a lot of people yet. I can imagine that most of their families wanted to spend some time with them first. I would have done the same had the whole Cobbs thing not happened.

"Hey Erin." Emily greeted me with a bright smile. "Congratulations by the way."

"Thanks. Is Jacob already here?"

"No but he and Billy will be here soon. Zoe and I could use a hand in the kitchen though."

"Zoe?" I asked.

"Yeah, she and Seth have been spending some time together lately but I'm not sure if she's really okay with everything yet."

So I guess she did listen to me. Good. Now that Leah is completely freaking out about Alex imprinting on her, I don't have the time to help Zoe as well.

I helped Emily and Zoe in the kitchen for a while until Sue showed up and made it pretty clear to the both of us that she wanted the opportunity to have a talk with her future daughter-in-law. So me and Emily were off kitchen duty. There were already more people present. I could see Kim and Jared talking together. Paul and Sam were in charge of the barbeque. Quil was playing a game with Claire that included princess dresses and crowns.

"How old is Claire?" I suddenly asked Emily.

"Two, she'll be three in a few weeks. She wants a party with a princess theme. So you'll have to come dressed up." She smiled.

I snorted. There is no way I'll ever dress up as Cinderella or Snow White just to please the little girl. So she was the same age as Angela. She was probably just as much of a handful as Claire. I do like kids to a certain level but I don't want to spend the next five years playing dress-up with a little girl I don't even want in my life.

"I'm guessing Jacob still isn't here yet?" I asked Emily after scanning the entire back yard.

"What are you so impatient for? Is there something going on?" She asked me with a secret smile on her lips as if I was hiding some juicy gossip from her.

"No, there's just something I wanted to discuss with him."

"Oh, well I'm sure he's already on his way. No need to be so nervous. You're acting like Jared." She smiled.

"Jared?" I frowned.

Why would she associate me being nervous with Jared? He seems very relaxed to me.

"Yes, you know. Because he's going to propose to Kim later tonight."

"That's tonight?"

I had completely forgotten about Jared proposing to Kim after graduation. I guess he meant it quite literally after graduation, only a few hours later. Well, people get nervous over smaller things. No wonder he is. Though he doesn't really look all that freaked out to me. He probably doesn't want Kim to be on to him.

"He's going to ask her on the beach." Emily smiled.

Why do I have the feeling she's got something to do with Jared's preparations for his marriage proposal to Kim? The woman is always in on everything. I wanted to ask her when exactly Jared would ask her to marry him but I saw a very familiar truck pull into the driveway. That would have to wait, I need to talk to Jacob first.

I felt kind of bad that when he asked me who the man was and if something was wrong, I didn't tell him the truth. It's not that I'm trying to hide it from him but I was still so shaken up in that moment that I just didn't want to talk about it.

After Jacob had helped Billy get out of the car and his father went to greet Sam, I took the opportunity to drag him away from prying eyes.

"Where are we going?" He asked me surprised but he still let me pull him along.

I walked all the way to the forest and sat down on a trunk there, pulling Jacob down with me. I didn't want anyone to hear our conversation or disturb us. Normally I wouldn't go to the forest but we didn't go in too deep and I knew nothing would happen to me as long as Jacob was by my side.

"I have to talk to you." I told him.

"What about?"

I could tell he was a little worried that there was something I had to tell him. Knowing Jacob, he probably has all kind of scenarios in his head. But he still let me take my time to think about what exactly I was going to say to him.

"Earlier today... I lied to you." I spoke softly.

His eyes got really big all of the sudden.

"When you said it would be okay if I was just a mechanic?"

"No," I quickly said. "That's still okay for me, that's more than okay. I meant when you asked me who the man was and I told you I didn't know him."

"Who is he then?"

"Mason Cobbs."

"Where have I heard that name before?"

"When I told you about the research Bryan had been doing on our mother."

I could see realisation dawning on him.

"He's her new husband." He nodded.

"Yes, and the little girl on his arm..."

"...Is your half-sister." He finished.

"Don't call her that."

I didn't like to refer to Angela Cobbs as my half-sister. It made it sound like I had some kind of responsibility towards her, like Bryan claimed. I'm not responsible for her.

"What am I supposed to call her then?" He asked.

"I don't know... Just not that."

"Okay. What did he want from you anyway?"

"He wants me and Bryan to be a part of his daughter's life. He doesn't have any family and my mother walked out on them as well now."

"But that's not what you want?"

"I just want her to be gone, I want him to be gone. I just want everything to go back to the way things were, before Bryan went to find her and we had no idea she had a new family."

I honestly would be way happier if I had never known all the things I knew now, about her, about her husband, about Angela's existence. I wish Nathan never told me.

"But Bryan doesn't want that. He wants that girl in our lives, even my dad wants me to think about it."

"Then think about it."

"I don't want to think about it. I don't want her or him in my life. Every time I think about that little girl, I keep thinking about when Bryan was that little girl. Boy I mean. And how he asked me why his mom wasn't there to tuck him in at night anymore and how I had to make up lies to get him to go to sleep. I don't want to do that again. I won't."

"I can't tell you what to do about this, Erin." He sighed, clearly frustrated that there wasn't anything he could do to make this all better.

"I know. Things would be so much easier if you could."

Jacob wrapped his arms around me and brought me closer to his chest. Even though his body temperature was very high, almost too high on such a warm summer evening, I was glad to feel his arms around me. It did make me feel a little better.

"He told me that she's manic, like that somehow makes it okay what she did." I spoke softly.

"Manic? Isn't that when a person gets really happy one moment, and super depressed the next?"

"Yeah, you want to hear the great part about it? It's genetic."

The fear that I was like her, hit me back full force and I was once again panicking. I was glad that due to our position Jacob couldn't see the fear in my eyes or the lingering tears. I was also kind of afraid to tell him that I might end up like her.

"Genetic?"

I was afraid my voice with tremble so I just nodded, trying to push back the tears from where they came from. But Jacob turned me around in his embrace so he could look at me. And when Jacob looks at me, there is no way of hiding what I truly feel.

"You're scared."

He reached out his hand to cup my face, or so I thought. Instead he wiped away the single tear that had made its way from my eye to my cheek.

"I don't want to be like her." I sobbed silently.

"You're not." He told me.

"But what if I am and I just don't know it yet? What if I'll eventually end up doing what she did? What if I'll leave you one day? What if I break your heart the way she broke my father's?" I cried.

"You won't. You're my imprint."

He said it as if that meant I couldn't hurt him, because he imprinted on me. That was no reassurance. It definitely didn't stop me from hurting him before.

"I don't think my genes care about that."

"But I know you do. And even if you end up running away from me, do you really think I won't go after you? I'd look all over the world for you." He once again brushed away my tears.

"You can't even leave La Push." I sniffed.

"Well, you can't run very far then."

He tried to lighten the mood and it did work slightly. I laughed and even though it came out more like a sob, he did make me feel a little better.

"I do mean it, Erin. I'm not letting you go anywhere."

I snuggled my head into the crook of his neck and fisted my hands into his shirt. I hope he's right. And maybe Mason Cobbs was right as well when he told me he didn't think I have anything to be worried about.

We stayed seated like that for a long time, we even missed dinner. I wasn't very hungry anyway but I'm sure Jacob must be starving by now. So I eventually stood back up and we walked back hand in hand to where the others were. Our missing presence didn't go unnoticed but luckily no one commented on it. Good, that's the last thing I need.

I was just getting something to eat when I got cornered by Leah who wasn't as nice as the others about it.

"Where have you been? I arrived here like three hours ago and you were nowhere to be found!"

She was once again freaking out. I didn't need to ask her why because I could see for myself how Alex's eyes never left her and that made her jumpy.

"I was with Jacob." I shrugged.

"That's no excuse. You have to help me with this. I know you told me I should try to get to know him but every time he tries to talk to me, I bolt. What am I supposed to say to him? We have absolutely nothing in common!"

Nothing in common? They were both giant wolves! I'm sure they'll find something to talk about but by the look on Leah's face she was being serious.

"How about you start with 'Hi'?"

"It's not funny. I can say that but what comes afterwards?"

"Ask him about college, he just graduated, right? And you'll be going there soon. You'll have lots to talk about and if him staring at you makes you this uncomfortable, just ask him to stop it. But ask him nicely."

"Okay, I guess I can do that."

But she was still not making any movement to go talk to Alex. Instead she just stood in front of me, crumbling the napkin in her hands. Oh boy, this was going to be way harder than I originally thought.

"Would it make you feel better if I went with you?" I proposed even though I really didn't want to.

She nodded so I guess I'll be playing match maker once again. I don't understand why people keep asking for my help with this when they know I suck at it. I waved Alex over and he seemed ecstatic with the prospect of standing this close to his imprint.

"Hi." He beamed at her.

"Hi." She muttered under her breath, not looking at him but at the napkin in her hands.

"So... you just graduated, right?" I tried to start up a conversation.

"Yes." He said and continued to stare at Leah.

If he's going to make it hard as well to start up a conversation, I might as well just give up now and let him stare at her while she stares at the ground.

"Me and Leah are going to Port Angeles Community College next year."

"Really?" He asked Leah but all she did was nod.

"Leah has been a shape-shifter for a while now, if you have a question about it you could ask her." I tried again.

"Yeah, I will." He muttered still staring at Leah as if there was nothing else around them.

Well, if my presence is this insignificant I might as well go. When I walked away and turned around, they were still standing the way I left them, neither of them noticing I had even left. I sighed. I can't help them if they don't want to even try and make conversation.

"What are you doing?" Paul asked me, munching on his meat, not even trying to close his mouth properly.

"Helping the hopeless imprints." I pointed towards Leah and Alex.

"Good luck with that." He snorted.

"Don't laugh, I'd like to see you in the position." I smirked.

"Not gonna happen." He grumbled.

"That's what you think, buddy." I laughed.

"Could you not call me that!"

"Oh, sorry...BFF." I grinned.

Before Paul had the chance to probably throw his plate pilled with food at my head, I heard a joyful squeal coming from the other side of the yard. Kim and Jared had apparently come back from the beach (I hadn't even noticed them leave) and the squeal was Emily's way of congratulating them on their engagement. I would get the chance to do the same thing, later. Firstly I want to eat because between me sobbing in Jacob's arms, trying hopelessly to start up a conversation between Leah and Alex and bugging Paul, I still hadn't had the opportunity to fill my stomach.


	84. Childhood memories

_I want to thank my lovely reviewers __**kikikiki, weasleytwins12, SundaySolis, lovesong101, Alaina08, Guest, ForeverTeamEdward13, funny, Mythical Words, beachchick3, bookfreak345, Imprinting Magic, nene82743, ucancallmebob, jules, XxxPrettyxxxGirlxxX, Trunk'sfallenAngel, werewolf lover8 **__and __**Alenerien!**_

**Chapter 84**

After eating and congratulating Kim and Jared on their engagement, I drove back to my house. Both my dad and brother were downstairs, watching TV. They looked up when I entered the house but luckily they didn't say anything when I raced up the stairs. I knew what they wanted to talk about so I'd rather avoid them.

The next week had a terrible weather. It rained almost every hour, every day. I barely left the house and since I didn't want to talk to my family, I spent most of the time cooped up in my room. Jacob was there a lot of course but on one of the rare moments he wasn't, my dad knocked on my bedroom door.

"Can I come in?" He asked me when he was already halfway in my room.

I shrugged. It was his house. If he wanted to enter my room, there really wasn't much I could do about it.

"I wanted to talk to you about Angela."

Big surprise there. I pulled a face once he mentioned her but he just ignored that.

"You've had over a week to think about it and I hope you've made the right decision."

There was no such thing as the right decision. If I do what I want, Bryan will be back to hating me. And if I do what Bryan wants me to do, I'll be unhappy. There is no right decision!

"I know you're not too keen on having them here but maybe this isn't about you."

What?

"Not completely at least. This is just as much about Bryan and Angela. She's just a small child, don't punish her for your mother's mistake."

"You want them here?" I asked him with what I am sure is a shocked expression on my face.

He didn't answer me immediately. He just looked at me as if he was thinking of a way to voice his thoughts without upsetting me.

"It doesn't matter what I want, it's about what's the right thing to do."

"What is the right thing?" I asked him.

"When Stacy left us, I was a wreck. I would have stayed depressed like that if it weren't for Eve."

After my mother left, my aunt Eve, my father's sister who lives in Singapore, flew over and stayed with us for a few weeks. I don't remember a lot of those weeks but I do know that my dad barely left his room and that if we wanted something to eat, we had to ask aunt Eve.

"But even after she left, things were still hard. I was suddenly a single father responsible for raising two children all alone. If I didn't have you to take care of Bryan and cook for us, I would have been completely lost. And in a strange way Bryan also took care of you. I don't want Angela to become a victim from Stacy's mistakes because she doesn't have you or Bryan."

"I don't think of her as my sister, dad." I sighed because I knew he was on his way to convincing me.

"Then think of her as a little girl who needs yours and Bryan's help."

He left my room after that. I was mad at him because I knew he had somehow convinced me.

The next day I made up my mind. Early in the morning I took the car and drove to Forks Hotel. It doesn't have many rooms and Mason Cobbs had told my brother that he stayed at room 11. Apparently Bryan has been passing by here.

"Erin?"

He was definitely surprised that I was the one who knocked on his door.

"Come on in." He said quickly as if he thought I'd leave if he didn't say anything soon.

The room was a lot better than the previous hotel I had been in. The room was cosy but since it's still a hotel, it was unpersonal. There was a small crib in the corner from which came shallow breaths. Angela was still sleeping and I have to admit that I can't really hate her when she looks that innocent.

"I'm glad you came. Would you like to drink something?"

"I'm not staying very long. I just came to tell you that I'm okay with you and her staying here. You can also come to my house. Bryan would like that. But just so we're clear. I'm doing this for Bryan, not for you. I'm not playing babysitter for her, I'll just tolerate you and that's it."

When I drove back home, I already felt like I will regret this decision soon.

And three days later my prediction came true. Jacob had told me that he was proud of me for making such a decision but I just knew it would come back to bite me in the ass. In the past three days Mason Cobbs had arranged a lot of things. He had found a job in Port Angeles and found a day care for the summer for Angela. But apparently he's a real workaholic and he already called my brother two times to go pick Angela up at the day care. Bryan didn't mind much and even seemed happy to play games with her in the hour she stayed at our house. I had never seen such a soft side in my brother before and it made me almost jealous to realise Angela was the reason for it. Like I needed another reason to resent her presence in my house.

Whenever she was here, I stayed up in my room. I said I'd tolerate them, not spend time with them. I saw the look of disappointment on my dad's face but since he had already pushed me to my limit, he never said anything about that. Until this afternoon.

"Erin, tonight Mason and Angela are staying over for dinner. It would be nice if you'd try to make them feel a little welcome."

"What! Why?"

"Because they're family."

"They're not-"

"They are part of this family, Erin. You might not consider her your sister but Bryan does."

I huffed. He did not need to remind me of that fact. I was very much aware of it. The guy suddenly talks baby language and loves playing peek-a-boo. He already adores the little girl. Me, not so much.

"And I was wondering if you would also like to invite Jacob." He barely managed to get out.

That definitely got my attention. 'Jacob' almost seemed like the forbidden word around the house, especially after my dad found out that he had known that I was in Portland before I told my dad.

"Really?" I asked him a little suspicious.

There had to be a catch.

"Yes." He sighed.

"But you just said it was a family dinner." I frowned, grimacing a little when I referred to those people as family.

"I know but in some messed up way, that's what Jacob Black is."

I couldn't even fight of the wide smile that was creeping on my face now if I wanted to. Was my dad finally accepting Jacob?

"Don't for a minute think that this means I believe Jacob Black is the right guy for you." He quickly said.

"Then why invite him?"

"Because you think he is. And you're always a little more tolerant when he's around."

I knew very well my dad did this so that Jacob could possibly be used as a buffer in tonight's dinner. And to appease me. But to me it was way more than that. This was my dad finally accepting the fact that I loved Jacob. I thought he would never ever warm up to the idea.

"I'll go ask him." I shot up and grabbed the car keys.

"Tonight, at seven! Don't be late!" He still shouted after me.

I quickly drove to Emily and Sam's where I knew he would be. When I got there, all the guys were sitting outside in their wolf form. What the hell? Good thing the house is shielded by trees or one of the neighbours might call the pound. The idea of trying to fit those giant wolves into a cage made for normal sized dogs, made me snort. All the wolves stared at me as if I was crazy. Well, I would probably think the same thing but seeing all those wolves cock an eyebrow at me just made me laugh even louder.

"Oh, don't mind me." I smiled, talking to giant wolves in my friend's back yard. "Just passing through."

I made my way to the house and the wolves turned back towards the giant black one who seemed to be talking to them in their heads. Only the one with a russet fur stared a little longer at me. It had been a long time since I'd seen Jacob in his wolf form. Actually I had only seen him as a wolf once and I was a little too busy trying to get away from what I thought were human eating monsters, to fully take in Jacob as a wolf. It's really weird to think this but he was still really handsome as a wolf as well. I almost felt jealousy rise in me thinking of female wolves around these woods trying to chase him. Wow, weird scenario.

I smiled widely at the second largest wolf in the pack with the beautiful warm brown eyes before entering the house. All the imprints were there. Except of course Leah because she's still a shape-shifter in the first place. Her sharing a mind with the wolf who imprinted on her must be awkward.

"How long have they been outside like that?" I asked Kim when I sat down next to her and stole some of her popcorn.

"Three hours!" Jackie sighed dramatically.

"What are they talking about that they can't do in the house?"

The fact that they all suddenly stayed silent was my answer. They were discussing something about the battle against the royal vampires which for some reason they didn't want to take the chance of us overhearing. I don't like thinking about that battle because it makes me feel guilty over what I asked Jacob, so I changed the subject.

"What are you watching?"

"Home videos." Emily grinned at me.

Only then did I realise I knew the people on the screen. I almost chocked on the popcorn when I realised the eight year old boy running around on the screen, shouting at the person with the camera to come see what a big sand castle he made, was actually Quil.

"Is that Embry?" I squinted my eyes to look at the boy who was crying on the background for falling on his ass in the water.

"Yes." Kim giggled.

Oh, this is priceless. The many ways I could torment the pack with these videos. Were they all in it? I couldn't wait to see some embarrassing moment in Jacob's childhood.

"Where did you get this?" I grinned.

"Sue was clearing out the attic and gave a box with this in it to Seth who was naive enough to think Zoe wouldn't show us." Emily smiled.

So I guess I should kind of thank her for this blackmailing material. I hadn't even seen her in the room. She was sitting in the corner, smiling with us at the videos but keeping silent for the rest of it. I guess she still wasn't all too comfortable about the whole pack thing. She does deserve some credit for trying even though she's clearly not at ease.

We had been laughing with a Leah who tried doing a handstand and showed us her pink underwear in the process, with a really young Seth who kept trying to run away from his mother who was trying to pick him up and a surprisingly already kind of handsome Jared who kept throwing twigs in girls' hair. So far the video had been very entertaining.

"Isn't that Jacob?" Jackie suddenly said.

She was right. The camera turned towards a boy sitting in the distance on the beach all by himself. The boy could only have been eight, maybe nine years old but I still recognised my Jacob in him. He still had the same skin tone, the same dark brown eyes but something was wrong. This younger version of the man I loved was sad and even though at that point I didn't know him yet it broke my heart to see that expression on his face. It made me feel like I had failed him in some kind of way and since this was in the past, I couldn't do anything to make it better. The person holding the camera sighed and made his way over to where small Jacob was sitting. It was then that I realised this must be from around the time that Jacob's mom passed away.

"Turn it off." I said, not wanting to see that heart shattering expression for another second.

"What?" The other girls got confused.

"Just turn it off, please." I sighed.

Eventually Emily stopped the video and they all noticed my sudden change in attitude.

"Are you okay?" Jackie asked me.

"I'm fine." I shrugged it off. "So what else was in the box?"

Kim suddenly grinned and passed me the box.

"Pictures!"

Tons and tons of pictures. Apparently the Clearwaters like documenting every day in the lives of their children and their friends' children. Luckily for us that's almost every pack member.

"There are a lot of pictures of Jacob too. You can pick some out if you want." Kim smiled. "I got these."

She showed me a picture of a smiling eight year old Jared. The second one was less flattering for the guy and she did call it 'material to tease him with'. Jared must be around the age of thirteen and it proves that even the most beautiful people in La Push have gone through an ugly duckling faze.

There weren't a lot of recent pictures of Jacob and I was glad to see that in none of the pictures he wore that sad expression. I eventually just kept all the pictures. I'm sure I'll have fun later on showing them to Jacob.

"They're coming." Jackie suddenly said.

We were going to use the material we had just gathered on a later date, when we were in need of it. So we quickly closed the box and shoved it behind the couch. I had already stashed the pictures in my bag.

Jackie had been right because just when we had shoved the box away, we heard the boys entering the house. When they saw us all sitting on the floor trying to act all nonchalant (and failing at it), they got a little suspicious.

"What were you doing?" Sam asked.

"Wedding stuff!"

Luckily Emily had faster reflexes than the rest of us who pretty much just stared at him with nothing coming to mind as an excuse. They didn't really seem to believe us but they left it at that. I felt a warm body sitting down next to me, pulling me into the heath.

"Hey." His warm breath tickled my ear but I refuse to let out a giggle. I did smile though.

I turned a little so I could properly look at him. He wore of course a smile on his face. He reminded me of the reason I came here in the first place. I pulled his face to mine and pressed my lips to his. Normally I would pull away quickly since there are a lot of other people in the room but right now, I didn't feel like it. Jacob snaked his arms around my waist and pulled me even closer to him. Before I could let him get carried away, I pulled back.

"What are you doing tonight?" I asked him, ignoring Zoe who was staring at us with big bulging eyes.

"Nothing so far." He grinned, pleased with the prospect of seeing me tonight.

"Oh, don't grin, you won't like it." I smirked.

"Why?" He asked a little suspicious.

"My dad is inviting the Cobbs over for dinner." I made a face at the mention of their names. "And you're going to be my buffer."

"I would love to, but I don't think it would be a good idea to aggravate your father with my presence."

"But that's the great part: he asked me to invite you." I smiled.

"Really?"

Jacob didn't seem to believe me but I can't blame him. I thought I was still dreaming when my dad asked me to invite Jacob for dinner.

"Yeah, he thinks I'll be nicer when you're around." I rolled my eyes. "He also said that it was a family dinner and that you are family in a certain way."

I thought it would be safer not to tell him my dad actually said in a messed up way.

"Is that why you're being all smiley and happy?" He laughed.

"Yes, my dad is finally warming up to the idea of you and me. Finally! All you have to do now is be your charming self tonight."

"That might be problematic." Paul snorted from his seat on the couch.

"Shut it." I bit back towards him and to my surprise he actually kept quiet.

"So we'll have to leave soon. It's at seven but I still have to take a shower and so do you."

He smirked.

"Not together." I told him when I saw an evil little grin creeping up.

"That's what you say now." He teased before we left the house together.

He's right though. As soon as I saw him getting naked in my shower, all dripping wet and sexy, I did join.


	85. Erin against the Cobbs

_Thank you __**DeeCatVenice, wolfhappiness, bookfreak345, weasleytwins12, nene82743, SundaySolis, deanloverforever, Sugar-Ice, ForeverTeamEdward13, Destined2RunWithTheWolves, Alaina08, kikikiki, Mythical Words, lovesong101, werewolf lover8, Lovelilies, nozer4eva, brneyez, purpleVampire22, MusicIsForever **__and __**Alenerien **__for reviewing the previous chapter. _

**Chapter 85**

The Cobbs, that is how I will be referring to them from now on, arrived very punctually on time at exactly seven o'clock. Who does that? Had he never heard of being fashionably late? Nobody expects their guests to come on time, people aren't ready for that. I was still getting dressed when the doorbell rang.

"What? Why are they already here?" I asked Jacob who had been ready twenty minutes ago and was now entertaining himself by sitting on the bed, watching me freak out.

"It's already seven." He shrugged.

Well, he wouldn't agree with me on this. He's always exactly on time as well. But he's actually welcome, I actually want him to be here on time.

"Okay, be nice because you want to impress my dad but don't actually be too nice because we don't want the Cobbs to come back here for dinner." I told him when he was about to jump out of the window so he could ring the doorbell like a normal boyfriend.

"I will be exactly what you want me to be." He told me right before he jumped.

I doubt that. Knowing Jacob he'll be way too nice to them. My dad called me downstairs so I was forced to go greet our 'guests'.

"Hey Erin." Mason Cobbs gave me a smile and I forced one back.

Bryan immediately gave all his attention to Angela, I mean mini Cobbs, and my dad started discussing the price of day care with big Cobbs. Where was Jacob? He jumped out of my window like five minutes ago, why wasn't he here yet?

Ding Dong!

Yes, finally! I immediately rushed to the door, ignoring Big Cobbs' question on who else was coming.

"It does not take that long to go from my bedroom window to the front door." I scowled at Jacob once I let him in.

"Sorry, my dad called. I forgot to let him know that I was eating here."

Hmmm, I guess that's an acceptable reason. I pulled Jacob into the living room. It was kind of funny to see Cobbs' eyes go all big when he noticed the huge guy standing next to me.

"That's Jacob, Erin's boyfriend." My father, not as reluctantly as expected, introduced Jacob to Cobbs.

"Oh, hi. I didn't know Erin had a boyfriend." He shook Jacob's hand, not too comfortablely.

Bringing Jacob along had been a great idea. Maybe Cobbs will be so intimidated by him, that he won't come around our house anymore. Like that's going to happen.

By the time we actually went to sit at the table, Jacob had already completely charmed Cobbs. He was supposed to make my dad like him, not Cobbs! Surprisingly enough Jacob has knowledge on real estate. Who knew? And now he was telling Cobbs about some of the houses that were for sale or to let in La Push and Forks. How does Jacob even know those things?

"What are you doing?" I whispered to him at the table when the others got distracted over Angela making a mess.

"I'm being charming, like you told me to."

"Well, tune it down a little. We don't want Cobbs to propose to you at the end of the night." I hissed.

He laughed, as if I just said something funny. When he noticed me scowling, he stopped.

"Fine, I won't be pleasant anymore." He sighed.

"Thank you, that's all I'm asking."

"So Jacob," Cobbs demanded once again his attention. "I heard about a place they called the old Kellmann house around here. Apparently that's a really good deal."

I knew the old Kellmann house. The Kellmanns used to live there (didn't see that one coming, did you?). The family moved away over seven years ago because Martha Kellmann, who had been a single mother for as long as I've known her got married to a man from the Navajo tribe. Nobody has lived in that house ever since. It was in a pretty secluded part of La Push, close to the shore but apparently the house was practically in ruins.

"It's true that they don't ask a lot for the old house but it needs a lot of repairs. You have to be willing to put a lot of time and effort in it. I've also heard that someone made an offer."

God, why were we talking about this old dump? And why was Jacob still playing nice?! I tried to give him a subtle shove but thanks to all his muscles, he didn't feel it.

"Your dad told me you're going to Port Angeles Community College next year." Cobbs turned his attention towards me.

"Yes."

"So when do you start?"

"September."

I could see my dad giving me an aggravated look because I wasn't even trying to start up a conversation. Bryan was a little more helpful I guess.

"My school year's finished as well now so I'll have plenty of time to take care of Angela if you want."

"I might take you up on that offer." He smiled at my brother.

"Of course you will. Since it's the reason you moved here." I muttered under my breath.

Nobody heard it because they didn't respond. Of course Jacob did, I know he did, but he didn't say anything about it either.

For the rest of the evening I didn't say much. All I did was answer questions with yes or no. Bryan was doing most of the talking. After Jacob realised how much him being nice to these people annoyed me, he stopped being so damn charming.

"What was that all about?" My dad turned to me after the Cobbs and Jacob had left.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about the way you kept giving Mason the cold shoulder the entire evening."

"Mason? You're calling him by his first name now?!" I could feel that I was getting annoyed.

"Yes, and you should too. They are going to be here for a long time. You told him that it was okay for them to stay. Now act like it."

"I'm going to bed." I huffed.

"Erin!"

But I still went upstairs, even though my dad still wanted to talk to me. I almost slammed the door close when I got in my room.

"You okay?" Jacob frowned from his spot on my bed.

"No, I am not okay. I didn't say a mean thing tonight and I still get lectured!"

"You weren't really being nice either." He spoke carefully.

"What?! Whose side or you on?!"

"I'm always on your side."

"You could have fooled me with all the polite talk on real estate. How did you even know all those things?"

"I'm smarter than I look."

"Yeah right." I huffed.

"Because all I'm supposed to be able to talk about is cars and motor cycles? Because I'm just completely retarded when it comes to every other aspect of life?"

That was not at all what I meant! I never wanted to upset Jacob but somehow that's what I had done. He was getting off my bed and walking towards the window.

"I don't want to fight right now. I'll see you tomorrow."

"No, please Jacob. Don't go."

"You're deliberately picking a fight with me." He sighed.

"I'm not. This is just me vending my frustrations. You're supposed to listen to them."

"Well, I don't want to listen to them."

"Sorry if my emotions are inconvenient for you." I snapped.

"That's not what I meant and you know that. I'll call you tomorrow."

Before I could tell him to stop, he had already jumped down my window and was gone. Fuck, were did that come from? We literally started arguing out of the blue.

I didn't want to go to sleep like this. I felt terrible after the fight with Jacob but I know staying up tonight wouldn't be of any use. I won't be able to talk things out with him tonight and I should get some sleep. Claire's birthday party is in a few days and Emily asked for my help tomorrow.

I don't know how I did it but eventually I managed to fall asleep. I don't remember what I dreamed off but all I know is that I woke up with an awful feeling in my gut as if I had just had the worst nightmare.

"I'm sorry."

I hadn't realised that a figure had been standing at my window but I felt reassured that I would have noticed it, had it been someone who didn't belong here. I couldn't see Jacob's face but I could clearly hear the regret in his voice.

"I'm sorry too." I whispered back. "I hate it when we fight."

I really do. Fighting with someone is never fun but with Jacob it just hurts too much to hurt him. And I hate it that I have the ability to hurt him. He moved away from his spot by the window and sat down on my bed.

"I was in a bad mood due to something you have no control over." He sighed. "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"Well, I snapped at you too so we're even. Why were you in a bad mood?"

"Doesn't matter." He told me before lying down next to me.

"You don't want to tell me?"

"Not right now. Later."

Since this is him and me making up, I shouldn't bother him about something he clearly doesn't want to talk about. But the fact that there's something he doesn't want to talk about with me, gave me a nagging feeling that I couldn't get rid off for the rest of the night. Why was there something Jacob didn't want to discuss with me?

The next day I helped Emily with the preparations for Claire's birthday party like I had promised but the entire day I couldn't stop thinking about whatever had gotten Jacob in such a foul mood all of the sudden yesterday.

"You okay? You seem a little out of it." Emily suddenly asked me when we went to the store.

"Just a strange conversation I had with Jacob. It's nothing." I shrugged but I think she realised it wasn't nothing.

"We're almost done here. Why don't you go talk to him about whatever is bothering you?"

I love it that Emily always puts others first. We weren't even close to being done but I did want to talk to Jacob so I took her up on her offer. She dropped me off at my house because I still needed to get Jacob's phone which he left at my house yesterday. When I was almost ready to start the long walk towards Jacob's house (dad took the car to work), the doorbell rang. If luck is on my side, it will be Jacob. If luck is not on my side,... well, that leaves a lot of options.

"Mason?" I spoke in surprise.

I had almost called him Cobbs but because everyone kept insisting I call him by his first name, I forced myself to do so. It still didn't make sense to me why he was here suddenly. Bryan hadn't said anything about babysitting Angela today.

"Is Bryan here? I got called away and I need to catch my plane in three hours. I was hoping Angela could spend the night here."

"He's not here. He went to Seattle for the day. Some of his friends are competing in some kind of band battle."

"Oh, is your dad home then? I really need someone to take care of Angela right now."

"He's at work. He won't be home until early in the morning."

"Oh." He simply said.

I could almost see the wheels turning in his head, coming up with the only option left. Before he could even ask me to, I interrupted.

"Well, good luck finding a babysitter. I have plans so bye."

"Could you watch her?" He asked me before I could slam the door in his face.

"No, I'm busy." I replied quickly.

"Please Erin. I really need someone to take care of her tonight and I can't leave her with a stranger."

I was a stranger. During the entire time she's been here, I've never even spoken one word to her. I'm sure the mail man is less of a stranger to her than I am.

"I'll even pay you for it."

He is seriously delusional if he thinks I'm going to babysit my mother's kid for a couple of bucks. I can't be bought.

"Is 200 dollars okay?"

What?! So much money to babysit?! Now it makes sense why Bryan loved it so much. Maybe I could be bought, but only this once. It was already getting kind of late so maybe she'll just sleep the entire time.

"Fine." I sighed irritated.

"Thank you so much. I promise this is the only time I'll ask such a thing from you."

He dropped her bag on the floor in the hallway and told me where I could find everything. He said he'd call me as soon as he landed. He made a move to hand me the little girl sitting on his arm but I just took a step back.

"You can just put her on the floor." I told him. I wasn't going to hold the girl.

"Put her on the floor?" He asked, probably already reconsidering asking me to take care of his daughter.

"Yeah, she's already three years old. She can walk." I shrugged.

He seemed a bit reluctant to do so but eventually he did put Angela down.

"She still needs to be fed but I've put everything necessary in the bag. You'll have to change her diaper right before putting her to bed. She has to go to sleep at 7. She usually sleeps through the entire night so she won't be of any bother to you."

"Okay, got it. You should probably go now or you'll miss your flight."

"Right..." He said, reluctant to leave his one and only child in my care.

He was slowly making his way back to the door when he turned around again.

"Her teddy bear is in the bag as well. She can't sleep without it."

"Okay."

He opened the door now but before he actually stepped out, he turned to me again.

"Sometimes when she really can't sleep, it helps to softly rock her back and forth in your arms. It calms her down."

"Okay." I repeated.

"And also –"

"I've got this. Now stop worrying and catch your flight." I sighed.

Finally he left my house, turning around at least two more times. It does make sense. I wouldn't leave my child in my care either. I'm not really experienced when it comes to taking care of kids. Just look at how badly I screwed it up with Bryan and that was when I was still a calm and soft ten-year old.

"So..." I turned around to look at the little girl sitting on the floor, staring up at me with her big blue eyes.

"...Are you hungry?" I tried.

The little girl didn't answer me but she did nod her head. Okay, I guess I would have to feed her first. We don't have a special seat for little children so I figured I'd just sit next to her on the floor and feed her there. But apparently three year olds can eat for themselves because she softly grabbed the spoon out of my hand and ate all by herself. I didn't say she ate properly. By the time she was done the entire kitchen floor was covered in whatever it was Cobbs had given me to feed her.

"You don't happen to be good at mopping, are you?" I asked her but all I got from her was a little burp. "Didn't think so."

I sat her in front of the television so she could watch the only channel we had that didn't have swearwords and explosives on it. While she stared at the screen with big eyes, I cleaned up the mess she made.

"You don't talk much, do you?" I asked her after I sat down next to her and realised she hadn't spoken a single word to me in the whole hour she had been here.

"At least Claire talks." I muttered under my breath when I once again didn't get a response

out of the little girl.

She stayed up for another half hour but eventually I had to put her to bed, while she still hadn't spoken one word to me. I put her in Bryan's bed, hoping she wouldn't suffocate in the big bed. I was glad when she fell asleep. I didn't want to sit in awkward silence anymore even if the little girl doesn't even know yet what awkward silence is. I knew what it was.


	86. Cliff diving

_Thanks for reviewing __**SundaySolis, weasleytwins12, Alaina08, r-cklessly, , Finnicks Girl, nene82743, kikikiki, ForeverTeamEdward13, lovesong101, werewolf lover8, jemmamaree, mebs2010, MuseMasterBanner, Wowza, Tanya, Alenerien, Guest **__and __**MysteriousAndChaotic. **_

_I know Erin's been really mean when it comes to Angela but in a way it's kind of normal. Angela represent to her everything she hates about her mother. It will take some time before she sees Angela as more than just her mother's other daughter. _

_The fight between Jacob and Erin came off differently than I had wanted it too. I reread it and it does seem like Erin started a fight (as usually) but I kind of wanted it to come from the both of them. My bad. Just remember that Jacob is acting a little strange, not as patient as he usually is with his imprint. _

_Also don't hold your breath for an extra update. I would love nothing more than to brighten your summer with an extra chapter but I've kind of been having writer's block. Well, not really writer's block because I know what I want to happen in the chapters to come. I just haven't really been feeling like writing lately. At least when it comes to this story. I've been working on another Twilight story and I've already got 7 chapters. While here it's the first time I have actually struggled with a chapter and now I've only just begun chapter 87 but don't worry. It will be done by next Monday. _

**Chapter 86**

At 9 I had almost forgotten that there was a little girl sleeping upstairs. She made such little noise and I wasn't used to having a small child in this house. That's why I almost had a heart attack when her piercing cries reached my ears. I had been slightly dozing off in front of the screen but when I heard her cry, my mind was immediately alert. Knowing that we live in a world of werewolves and vampires, I rushed upstairs afraid of what the reason might be she was crying. When I got to Bryan's room I had to look around twice to comfort myself with the thought that no one else was in here besides me and the screeching girl in the bed.

"Why are you crying?" I frowned.

But of course the little girl didn't answer me. She just kept crying and she was making my ears hurt. What had Cobbs said again? That she couldn't sleep without her teddy bear. But the bear was still there, clutched in her tiny hands. It hadn't fallen out of the bed during her sleep so that couldn't be what had upset her all of the sudden. She couldn't be hungry either because I had fed her before I had put her to bed. For a moment I considered the possibility of her wetting the bed but then I remembered I had given her a diaper to sleep in.

Eventually I walked over to the bed to take her in my arms and rock her back and forth like Cobbs had said. But as soon as I touched her, I knew why she had been crying. She was burning up like crazy. She was even warmer than Jacob. I'd be crying my eyes out as well if I had a fever like that.

I somehow managed to hold the little girl in my arms without being tempted to drop her. Don't judge me, you would drop a fireball, wouldn't you? That's exactly what she felt like. I took her to the bathroom so I could somehow cool her down with some water. To no avail. She was practically dripping wet and her temperature only seemed to get higher.

It didn't make sense to me how her fever had literally come out of nowhere but I did know that it's probably to a point now where I have to take her to the hospital. Only one problem: I have no car. I could of course call someone with knowledge of how to take care of a sick child but which one of my friends would know such a thing? Quil would, I suddenly thought. He takes care of Claire all the time. Who better to ask how to take care of Angela now that she's sick?

"Hello?" I was met with a groggy voice at the other end of the line.

Whoops. I guess I woke him up.

"Hey, it's Erin. I wanted to ask what you do when Claire has a fever."

"She's sick?!" He yelled frantically in my ear. "Where is she? I have to be there for her!"

"It was a hypothetical question." I sighed.

"Oh. Thank God."

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"What do you do when Claire – and I'm not saying she does – has a fever?"

"Why do you need to know that?"

"Because I'm babysitting Angela and she's really burning up. I have no idea what to do."

"Who's Angela?"

That's when I realised that I hadn't told anyone about Angela or how my mother's husband was living in Forks at the moment. I had only told Jacob which still makes it kind of weird that the pack doesn't know. I guess it didn't come to mind when they were discussing the fast approaching battle.

"It's a really long story. Just tell me what to do about a sick three-year old." I sighed.

According to Quil there wasn't much I could do about it other than cooling down my house and making sure she drinks a lot. So I found myself in the living room with Angela on my arm and the windows open. I was practically shivering from the cold but at least she had stopped crying and her temperature seemed to have dropped a little. She was also starting to fall asleep. I didn't want to put her down out of fear to wake her up so she pretty much slept in my arms. For such a small child she sure was heavy.

After a while I no longer wanted to play her crib and so went to put her down in Bryan's bed. Unfortunately she had fisted my shirt into her tiny hands during her sleep and she's a lot stronger than you'd think. I tried to pull it out of her grip but that didn't work. Eventually I just decided to sleep next to her. At least this way I'd be able to keep a close eye on her tonight.

I woke up very early in the morning by someone standing next to me.

"Dad, what the hell?" I whisper shouted.

"Language, Erin." He frowned but didn't seem too angry about it. He had a smile on his face.

Angela had rolled away from me in her sleep and I could finally get up.

"I didn't know Angela was supposed to be here tonight."

"She wasn't but Cobbs, I mean Mason, was suddenly called away and needed someone to babysit her. You weren't here and neither was Bryan so guess who had to do it?"

"Seems like you did an okay job." He smiled.

"She had a fever last night." I told him while touching her forehead. She was still warm but at least it wasn't the high fever it was yesterday. "She seems to be better now."

"Thank you for taking care of her last night." My dad was still smiling.

"I didn't have much choice." I shrugged. "I'm going to take a shower."

I left my dad in Bryan's room with Angela and I walked back to mine. When I opened the door, I walked straight into Jacob.

"Were you already up?" Jacob asked calmly but I could see in his eyes that he had panicked when he found my bed empty.

"No, I slept in Bryan's room."

"Why?" He frowned.

"Because that's where I put Angela to bed and she wouldn't let me leave. Plus she had a fever and I wanted to keep an eye on her. Why are you smiling at me like that?"

Jacob just stood there smiling at me and I had no idea why.

"I just think it's sweet that you took care of your little sister last night." He smiled.

"First of all, I did not have a choice in the matter. Secondly, don't call her my sister. She isn't, she's little Cobbs, understood? And lastly, stop calling me sweet. I am not nor will I ever be sweet."

But it still did not make the annoying smile disappear from his face.

"Stop smiling." I hissed.

He just laughed and kissed me on the forehead.

"Where is she now?" He asked me.

"In Bryan's room."

"You know what would be a great idea?"

"What?" I asked him a little suspicious.

"If you took Angela to Claire's birthday party this Saturday."

"No. No, no, no. I'm not taking her there."

"Why not?"

Why not? If you momentarily forget the fact that one of the pack members could randomly imprint on her and that she never speaks a word to anyone other than Bryan or Cobbs, there's still the fact that I don't want to be the only one responsible for her during another day.

"Because I said no." I responded lamely.

"Oh, come on. It would be good for Angela to meet new people and Claire really should hang out with someone her own age."

True, she only plays with Quil. But big mouthed Claire would not go well with shy and quiet Angela.

"I said no."

"Why not?"

"The pack will eat her up alive. Forget the pack, Claire will eat her alive."

"And that concerns you because...?"

That's a really good question. Why would I care that Angela would be uncomfortable around the pack and Claire? I don't care about the little girl. But she was so small and ridiculously innocent. I couldn't help but feel a little protective of her. After all she is –

"Oh fuck." I groaned.

"What is it?"

"Angela is growing on me."

And Jacob still stood there with the ridiculous smile.

For the rest of the day my dad took care of Angela which gave me the time to spend the entire day with Jacob since he didn't have to run patrols right now. We spend the day on the beach since it was finally a really hot summer day. We ran into some others of the pack who had shared the same idea. Luckily I had thought about putting on my swimsuit since they all wanted to go swimming.

"So who wants to go cliff diving?" Paul grinned.

All the boys jumped up enthusiastically but the imprints pretty much stayed seated.

"Oh, come on. Is none of you girls brave enough to jump off a little cliff?" Brady teased with a grin.

"I'm afraid of hights." Zoe spoke softly and the others kind of nodded with her.

"What about you, Erin. You too chicken as well?" Paul grinned.

"Fine."

I stood up and followed the other boys to the cliff they would jump off. The highest one. The one of which I once said to Jacob that wanting to jump of it, is what defines people as suicidal. Only when we got there did Jacob realise that I had come with them and he didn't like it.

"Erin? What are you doing here?"

"I'm going cliff diving." I shrugged as if this was something I did all the time.

"Are you crazy? That's dangerous!"

"You do it all the time."

I conveniently temporarily forgot the fact that he was an indestructible shape-shifter and that I was, compared to him, a fragile little human. He didn't forget.

"You're human."

"And right you are but before you went all bad ass shape-shifter you all still jumped of these cliffs." I told him.

"The lower ones."

"That just means I'm bolder than you." I grinned slightly but he still didn't seem to be okay with it.

So Jacob wasn't okay with it. I wasn't going to back out. Someone had to prove to these boys that the imprints weren't vulnerable girls who wouldn't dare to jump off a cliff. None of the other girls would do it.

"She'll be fine, Jacob. Stop fussing over her like she's a little girl." Paul rolled his eyes.

I'm torn between thanking Paul for sort of defending me or being angry at him for saying such a thing with the sole purpose of pissing off Jacob. I eventually went with the first one.

"Thanks." I said to Paul and then turned back to Jacob. "I'll be fine."

He was still kind of sulking when Paul pushed me towards the edge.

"See? It's not so far down." He grinned and his grin only grew when I went a little paler at the sight of the way down, the long way down. "Aren't you going to jump?"

Paul was having way too much fun with this. I was actually considering giving in to Jacob and not jumping at all but apparently Paul disagreed with the idea. Suddenly he pushed me down the cliff and I found myself being submerged in cold water after a few seconds fall.

I wanted to shout out 'What the hell' but the water surrounding me was making that impossible. The current down here was way stronger than I had expected and right now I'm whishing I had listened to Jacob because he had been right. I wasn't sure I could actually fight this current. What had I been thinking?

Before I could even start trying to make my way to the surface two big strong hands came out of nowhere and dragged me to where the oxygen was. Surprisingly enough it had been Paul instead of Jacob.

"Why would you do that, you idiot?!" I shouted while trying to hit him in every place I could reach which sounds easier than it is when you're also fighting the current.

"Relax, you're fine just like I said you'd be." He grinned.

"You pushed me off a cliff!" I screeched.

"Your point being?"

"Are you retarded?!"

"Chill Erin. It was just a little practical joke." He was still smiling.

"A joke? A joke?! What is wrong with you?! What if I had hit my head on the rocks? I could be dead."

"But you're not." He said.

"You are unbelievable! Just when I start thinking you aren't as bad as everyone says you are, you pull of something as irresponsible as this. There is something seriously wrong with you!" I shouted at him before starting to swim to shore.

When I finally got out of the water I saw a very pissed off Jacob. That made me think why he hadn't been the one jumping after me when Paul had pushed me. I could have been dead and Jacob didn't jump after me?

"I'm going to kill you!" He growled.

I was a little relieved to see that shaking Jacob's anger was directed toward the guy who came out of the water after me and not at me. Before I could say anything else, both Paul and Jacob disappeared into the forest to probably bite each other's ears off.

"You okay? I can't believe Paul did something so irresponsible!" Sam said to me.

"Yeah I'm fine. I just don't get why he did it and why he jumped after me instead of someone else."

I didn't have to tell Sam who that someone else was. Everybody knows that when someone pushes your imprint off a huge cliff, you jump after her. It's common courtesy.

"Jacob didn't know that Paul had pushed you off the cliff until he got all the way down."

Huh, why is that? Did he not see Paul push me? It's not like he had been subtle about it.

"He left after you told him you were jumping anyway." Sam explained to me when he saw my confused expression.

Jacob had left? And I hadn't even noticed it? Forget Jacob being a bad boyfriend, I'm a terrible girlfriend. Huh, somehow that always seems to be the conclusion. Why had he left in the first place anyway? He couldn't really be that upset over me wanting to try cliff diving.

"Are they going to be okay?" I pointed towards the forest.

"They'll be fine though it might be a while before we see either of them again." Sam shrugged and then turned back toward Emily.

Well, there wasn't much left for me to do anyway. So I sat with the rest of the pack for the remaining time of the afternoon but I was not enjoying myself. Jacob and Paul staying away for that long could not possibly be any good.

"I think I'm going to go. I still have some stuff to do." I told the rest of the pack before leaving.

I didn't really have any stuff to do but it was starting to get kind of cold and my personal space heater had left and I did not bring a jacket.

"You'll come tomorrow, right?" Emily asked me before I could leave.

"Yeah," I nodded.

I was going to leave it at that but then I remembered the conversation I had earlier on with Jacob. I had to please him now after the fight I had with him two nights ago and he would definitely still be pissed once he came back from wherever he was with Paul.

"Can I bring Angela?" I asked her.

"Who?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, you already spoke of her before. Who is she?" Quil asked me as well.

"She's..." Oh, I might as well say it now. "...my half-sister."

"Your what?" Jackie blurted out.

"It's a really long story. Look, she's around the age of Claire and maybe it would be nice to actually have kids at her birthday party." I sighed.

"I think it's a great idea." Emily smiled.

"Okay then. I'll see you tomorrow."

I could tell Jackie still wanted to talk to me but it had been a long day and I craved some peace and quiet. But when I got home there was no peace or quiet. Angela was apparently staying at our house for the next few days while her dad was away for business. Bryan was pissed for some kind of reason and my dad seemed to be just as clueless as me when it came to what Angela wanted. There was just so much noise in our house that I left only half an hour after I came home.

I decided to go to Jacob's house. Billy wouldn't mind me staying there and it would probably be the first place Jacob would go to. I rang the doorbell and fortunately for me Billy was home. He let me in, we had dinner together, I watched some lame show with him and during the entire time there was no sign of Jacob. Where could he be?

"I'm going to bed, Erin. Feel free to stay the night. I'm sure Jacob won't mind." Billy smiled at me before leaving the room.

That's the great part about being at Jacob's house. His dad has no problem with our relationship whatsoever nor with me spending the night in Jacob's room and he's not as naive to think we don't do anything there.

"Erin?"

I woke up to Jacob's voice calling my name. I must have somehow fallen asleep on the couch. Jacob was standing in his living room with the water dripping from his hair and chest. Was it raining? Had he been outside this entire time?

"Where have you been?" I asked him when I sat back up on the couch.

"It took me some time to change back after fighting Paul." He shrugged as though it was nothing.

"Are you okay?" I checked him for any visible damage but it probably would have already healed by now.

He shrugged and he seemed so... uncaring all of the sudden that he wasn't really my Jacob.

"Are you sure because-" I put my hand on his arm but he pulled back and walked to his room.

Did Jacob just shrug me off? What is up with that?! Something was clearly wrong with him and I was going to find out what it was. Now. I followed him into his room and he had somehow already changed clothes and was lying on his bed.

"Are you sure everything's okay? You're acting kind of weird."

"Yeah."

And that's pretty much all he said. Nothing about what happened with Paul and no explanation as to why he had just shrugged me off.

"Maybe I should go spend the night at my house." I said eventually after several minutes of awkward silence.

"Why?"

Oh, now I had his attention. At least he didn't seem to like me not staying the night with him.

"Because something has been bothering you and you don't want to tell me what it is. I'll just keep wondering what it is all night and be very uncomfortable around you because I think I might have done something wrong yet I don't know what it is."

"You didn't do anything wrong." He sighed and gestured for me to come sit next to him on the bed. "Like I said last time it's not something you have any control over."

"Then why won't you tell me what it is?" I whined. "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you, more than anyone but I'm afraid you'll take it the wrong way."

The wrong way? The only way I'll take something badly is because it's usually something bad. So far this conversation hasn't really eased my worries.

"Well, what is it?"

"There's something I want, something I might have wanted for a while even but I'm afraid to tell you what it is because... you might not want it."

"You're not making any sense to me."

He clearly got frustrated that I didn't understand his strange explanation but who would?

"I don't think you're ready to hear what I have to say." He sighed.

"Try me."

Everything was better than anxiously waiting what he was going to act like next. It will be like a bandage. He'll say something I apparently really don't want to hear but it'll be quick and over soon.

"Erin..."

Yeah?

"I want you to move in with me."

_In my most humble opinion, I think this came as an unexpected shock to all of you. But there is someone who actually guessed it to my surprise. Way to go Alaina08!_

_I have a question for all of you. I was wondering who's your favourite character in this story. That way I know who'll be making another appearance soon. _


	87. Birthday Party

_Thank you __**wolfhappiness, Guest, Sugar-Ice, xtremediva13, danastarry, Alaina08, Kate Elizabeth Black, So happy, I love this, Tanya, Finnicks Girl, bowtiesarecool, Cedes Rofriguez, SundaySolis, SparkBombFaith, ForeverTeamEdward13, funny, kikikiki, ChristinaAguileraFan, GabriellaHeath, haha, nene82743, LOVED IT, bookfreak345, Mebs2010, ADORATIO, esthealice17, lovesong101, werewolf lover8, Adids14, lionandthelamblove7, ucancallmebob, The Red Crayon, brneyez, LifeToDeath, Alenerien **__and __**DarkAsMidnight! **__You all reviewed a lot for the last chapter. I always like Mondays, it means I get a lot of reviews :)_

_Someone asked why Erin would take what Jacob had to say the wrong way. Now that I think about it, it might have been an unfortunate choice of words. I just meant that he was afraid she'd panic and not want the same thing he does. _

_I do love to read what you guys thought or think is going to come next. I'm always surprised at the things you come up with. _

_It's normal that sometimes some of you don't like the twists I put in my story. I can't keep everyone happy. I'm really sorry if that makes you want to stop reading the story :s_

**Chapter 87**

Did Jacob just say what I think he did?

"I've been thinking about it for a while now and I think we're ready for it. You and I are great, this relationship is great but lately I've been feeling like we're stuck. Emily and Sam are getting married, Jared and Kim just got engaged while we are in exactly the same place we were months ago. I want to move forward with you."

The more he said, the bigger my eyes got.

"Remember the Kellmann place we talked about at dinner? It needs a lot of work but the location is great and we can afford it. I want to make an offer on it. What do you think?"

There were a lot of thoughts crossing my mind, none of them something Jacob wanted to hear. I just sat there staring at him with big eyes.

"Erin?"

I felt on fire and not the good kind. Not the kind where my insides are burning with passion for Jacob, more like the kind that ultimately ends up in me throwing up.

"What do you think?"

"I think it's really hot in here. Could you maybe open a window or something?" I rattled.

"Sure." He frowned and opened his window. "But what do you think about-"

"Oh, look at the time. I think it's time we go to bed. Good night."

I quickly turned on my side with my back to him in the hopes he would just drop the subject. Right now I was wishing I never asked him what he was thinking about.

"Erin..." He sighed and I was afraid he was going to say a lot more than that. "This is why I didn't tell you before. I was afraid you weren't in the same place as I am. Just promise me you'll think about it?"

I nodded. I had thought about it and the thought alone made me break out in sweat.

"Good night." Jacob muttered once he had spooned me from behind.

He was fast asleep after a few minutes, I on the other hand couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about what Jacob had asked me. I felt feverish. For the first time ever Jacob's heat was uncomfortable, bordering on painful. His warmth was embracing me and I felt as if I was being surrounded by fire. Who knew you'd actually burn up when you get cold feet? It got to the point that I really couldn't stand to lie next to him and not just because of the heat. I got up, left the house and drove home.

I felt bad about leaving in the middle of the night like some kind of thief but I needed to be away from Jacob for a while. His question had traumatised me. Live together? Me and him? We were only eighteen years old for God's sake, not to mention we hadn't even been dating for that long. Sure, he's my soul mate and everything but even then you don't have to rush these things.

I slept terribly, waking every hour in fright, only to realise it was reality that freaked me out.

The next day I had to attend Claire's birthday party. Jacob would be there and by now I'm sure he's realised I ran off. That would not sit well with him. I was truly dreading running in to him at Emily's place but I had promised her I'd be there and I had even told her Angela would be coming as well. I could hardly send the girl off on her own.

"Hey dad, I'm going to Emily's this afternoon. It's Claire's birthday party. I thought maybe I'd take Angela with me." I told him once I got downstairs in the kitchen for breakfast.

"That's a great idea." He smiled at me, probably thinking I should have some sister bonding with the little girl.

"Can I come too?" Bryan asked me from where he was seated on the floor playing some game with Angela.

"You don't know those people. You don't even like those people." I told him.

Truth is he only dislikes one person there: Nathan. Ever since Bryan found out it had been Nathan who told me about him trying to find our mother and Nathan stopped hanging out with him under his alpha's orders, that friendship had gone down the drain. I felt bad about it but that was just the way it had to be. But Bryan would still not want to be around Nathan for an entire afternoon.

"Angela doesn't know those people either." He said.

"True but maybe it would be good for her to meet a child of her age." My dad helped me out.

"And you're going to keep an eye on her?" My brother asked me with a look on his face that clearly said he'd think I'd leave her to fend for herself the moment we'd arrive.

"Yes." I snapped.

"Do you even know if she wants to go? Have you even asked her?" Bryan said.

Of course I hadn't asked her. She's three. It's not like she already had other plans.

"Do you want to go?" My brother asked her, not even hiding the fact that he wanted her to say no.

Unfortunately for him she nodded and I couldn't fight off the smug grin creeping on my face.

"Fine." My brother huffed. "But if anyone there upsets her, I'll blame it all on you."

My brother could be such a drama queen when he wants to be.

The party started at 2 o'clock but I had told Emily I would come sooner to help her out. So at 1 o'clock I had put Angela in my car and I really, really didn't want to go. During the ride to Emily's Angela –of course- didn't say a word to me. It was almost as if she didn't know I was sitting in the car with her.

When we got there and I had taken her out of the car, we both walked towards the porch. Unfortunately for me the little girl didn't seem to be able to do the three marches by herself and looked up at me waiting for God knows what. Eventually I just offered her my hand to take and we walked up to the front door. Why does the girl have to be so helpless in everything she does, it makes me feel responsible and I do not want to be responsible for anyone other than myself.

"Emily?" I called out once I entered the house.

Angela was still holding on to my hand as if she was afraid I'd let go. I wanted to but the girl was persistent.

"In the kitchen." She called back.

Of course. Where else would she be?

Both Jackie and Kim were there as well and the moment they noticed the little girl holding my hand in a vicelike grip, they dropped everything.

"Is that little Angela?"

"She's so cute!"

"Look at those big blue eyes. They're amazing."

"Who's a pretty girl? You are. Yes, you are."

I couldn't blame Angela for trying to desperately hide behind me. I would have to if giant women cooed over me like that. They were frightening.

"Who else would I have brought?" I rolled my eyes at them.

"I don't really see a resemblance to you, Erin." Kim said when they stopped acting strange.

"She looks like my mother." I grumbled.

That was enough to make them realise I wasn't too happy about their attention for Angela, or maybe just Angela's presence in general. There was an awkward silence for several minutes until Emily changed the topic by giving us all something to do.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Emily crouched down in front of Angela.

There wasn't much she could help out with in the kitchen and I know Emily was just trying to be considerate towards the little girl but Angela quickly shook her head and clung even harder to me.

"I know Erin would love to watch a movie with you." She smiled.

Hell no! I'm so not in the mood to watch a retarded kid's movie with her. Luckily Angela shook her head again even though this time she seemed to have properly contemplated the offer. So instead she stayed in the kitchen with us and made some drawing at the kitchen table.

"So how come you didn't tell us?" Jackie suddenly asked me.

"Tell you what?"

She didn't answer me but looked at Angela who was trying to draw a hedgehog but it looked much more like a circle with grass growing on it if you ask me. I'm pretty sure that last time I checked hedgehogs weren't green. And they didn't fly either.

"It was pretty sudden." I shrugged.

"Did you tell Andy?"

I had to think about that. I had told him about Angela's existence about a week after I found out about it myself. I had also told him about Cobbs showing up at graduation but I don't think I've told him that I eventually decided to let them stay here. So he did know the basic stuff.

"Yeah."

"But not-"

Jackie's sentence was interrupted by Seth and Zoe entering the house and kitchen.

"It's smelling great in here." Seth smiled while Zoe stood shyly by his side.

I couldn't help but notice how she held his hand as if she was afraid he'd disappear if he let go. It made me wonder if maybe things were finally okay between the two of them. My question was answered when Seth kissed her gently on the lips. Good for them.

"And who's this pretty girl?" Seth directed his attention towards Angela.

Like usually she didn't answer but just stared at him with a blank expression on her face.

"That's Angela, Erin's half-sister." Emily eventually answered for her.

Seth turned his attention towards me and cocked an eyebrow. He wore a look of genuine surprise on his face. Maybe he hadn't been there when I told most of the pack about her.

"Don't ask." I said to him.

More people started entering the house, including Sam, Jared and Embry who had been running patrols while we were in the kitchen. I felt a pang when I watched them embrace their imprints in the typical loving way. I'm certain that Jacob won't be greeting me like that when he enters the house. Maybe I won't even want him to, maybe his heath will still be too suffocating to bare.

"Do you maybe need someone to taste everything before you serve it?" Brady walked into the kitchen with a smile.

"No." Emily sighed.

Just like everyone else who had entered the kitchen so far, his attention went to Angela rather quickly. I could tell she was getting nervous from all the huge guys staring down at her. She kept her gaze down on her new drawing.

"That's Angela, Erin's half-sister." Emily said once again. "Angela, this is Brady."

She eventually looked up at Brady. His grin disappeared the moment he locked eyes with her and stared at her with open mouth. He looked really fascinated in the little girl but why would a little girl be interesting to a 15-year old shape-shifter?

"No!" I shouted once I realised the only thing that look could mean. "You did not just imprint on her!"

I went to hit him when he suddenly tore his gaze away from her and looked at me. And smiled.

"Just kidding."

And then he laughed. As if such a thing was funny! I was so angry at him right now, I threw a frying pan at him. He's a shape-shifter, he can take it.

"Auw! What the hell, Erin!?" He shouted at me.

"That's not funny!" I shouted back at him in return. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Jesus, it was just a joke. Can't you take a joke?" He muttered while rubbing the spot on his chest where I had hit him with a frying pan.

I stayed pissed at him for the rest of the day. He might have thought it to be funny but he had really scared me. As much as I love imprinting when it comes to myself, I would not wish it on someone as young as Angela. She would never get the chance to be with someone else. You have to make mistakes and get hurt in love before you meet the right one. How else are you supposed to know how incredibly lucky you are?

Eventually the person of who I had really hoped he wouldn't show up, showed up. Jacob looked just like every other day but knowing what he had asked me last night made it difficult for me to look him in the eye. I had just brought a dish from the kitchen to the living room when I noticed him entering the house. Of course he noticed me as well and how I wouldn't look him in the eyes. Sensing how uncomfortable I suddenly was around him, or at least I hope that's the reason, he just passed me by and went to greet the others in the kitchen.

Since Jacob not greeting me properly when I'm standing right in front of him is rare, if maybe not unheard of, all the other people in the living room weren't even trying to hide their shocked faces. I pretended not to see it and continued what I was doing.

Eventually Claire arrived at her own birthday party with Quil and we all sang happy birthday for her. She was clearly enjoying the attention she was getting from all the members of the pack. Everyone had gathered around her and Angela was once again desperately trying to hide behind me.

"Who's that?!" Claire pointed towards Angela when the song was over and everyone was grabbing some food.

"That's Angela. Angela, this is Claire, the birthday girl." Emily smiled.

Angela forced a shy little smile which I guess is her way of saying happy birthday. Claire seemed to be excited that there was someone of her own age here but did get a little confused as to why she was here.

"Is she someone's special friend too?" She asked her aunt.

"No, she's Erin's sister."

"I didn't know you had a sister!" She looked at me now.

'Neither did I' I wanted to say but decided not to. It would be kind of mean towards Angela and Claire probably wouldn't understand the concept of a mother leaving her children and then starting a whole new family.

"You can fit in princess dresses!" Claire suddenly squealed and pulled Angela towards the bags Quil had brought with him.

She seemed pretty uncomfortable around the other three-year old but I figured she'd be just fine spending some time with someone other than her dad or Bryan.

"Could you help me cut the cake, Erin? I'm sure Angela is fine." Emily asked and I nodded.

Coming into the kitchen, my attention was immediately drawn to the handsome man standing next to the cake of course. Jacob had been in conversation with Sam but stopped when he saw me entering.

"Hi." He said.

"Hey." I said.

Can you say awkward? Leah, Sam, Emily, Seth and Kim were staring between the two of us as if one of us was going to say something super exciting. But we didn't say anything. We just stood there across each other trying not to look to much at each other.

"We should probably all head back to the living room. Claire's waiting to open up her presents." Emily suddenly said and the kitchen cleared out in no time.

It was probably her intention to give me and Jacob a moment to talk but he just followed everyone out to the living room. I guess he didn't really want to talk to me. I sighed.

"That was almost painful to watch."

I hadn't realised Leah was still standing in the kitchen.

"I know." I sighed.

"Me and you might not have a 18-year old friendship like you and Jackie but I do have more experience than her when it comes to awkwardness with your imprinter." She said after several minutes of silence.

I contemplated what she was saying for a while. Maybe it's not such a bad thing to confide in Leah, she's helped me before.

I quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her outside of the house through the back door. I only stopped when I was sure none of the wolves in the house could follow our conversation.

"Jacob asked me to move in with him." I blurted out.

Leah's eyes got really big and almost choked on her breath. See? It's a normal reaction to the news.

"Wow, I didn't see that one coming."

"Me neither." I whined pitifully.

"What did you say?"

"No, of course."

I'm sure that by now Jacob has figured out that me running away is an equivalent of 'no'.

"Because you're not ready for it?" She asked me.

"Because I'm only eighteen years old and I literally just graduated!"

"Yeah but aren't you ready for it?"

"Did you hear what I just said?"

"I did. I heard you sum up the reasons why people would find it too soon for you, I didn't once hear you say you weren't in the same place as Jacob is right now."

I remained silent because she was making sense.

"I think you are ready for this. You're just afraid. I'll be the first one to admit that change is scary but that doesn't mean it shouldn't happen."

"He wants to buy a freaking house!"

I had been hoping Leah would at least understand how crazy the thing he was asking me was. But she was clearly picking his side on this.

"Because he loves you and he wants you to be there all the time. Don't you know how lucky you are?"

"You're lucky too. You have Alex."

"Alex is a love sick puppy who's been camping in my back yard for the past weeks and keeps questioning everyone on my favourite food. Jacob is the man you're madly in love with and he wants to buy you a house so you can start your life together. Trust me, it's not the same."

"You really think I should consider this?" I frowned.

"What do you have to lose?"


	88. Being scared

_Thank you __**Alaina08, Kate Elizabeth Black, SundaySolis, Ninja-Cedes, Guest, plk123, nene82743, ForeverTeamEdward13, cullensrule, ucancallmebob, kikikiki, werewolf lover8, wolfhappiness, bookfreak345, DarkAsMidnight, ChelseaDagger14, moani-sama, jules, harrellgirl, d112hpfan, GymnastQueen, H.M. Mindy, 108DegreesIsHawt, Alenerien **__and __**sPaRkzZz. **_

_Brady really was just joking. I don't intend on making anyone imprint on Angela. That would make things even more complicated than they already are. Plus I don't like stories where every character is either a wolf or an imprint. I want to keep some of them out of the pack. So there will be no imprinting on Angela. _

**Chapter 88**

After talking to Leah, I went back inside to see they had gotten to the dress up part of the party. It was quite the laughable sight all those big buff macho boys with tiaras on their heads. Quil was lucky because Claire wanted him to play Prince Charming. He seemed to really be amusing himself with the blue cape and crown, galloping around the room on a broomstick. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw Claire trying to put sparkles on Paul's face since he refused to wear a tiara.

"Don't you look dashing." I grinned at him.

"Shut up." He grumbled but surprisingly enough he let the little girl do whatever she wanted. Sam probably ordered him.

Angela was helping Claire with dressing everyone up and unfortunately she immediately rushed to me once I entered the room to do the same. I refused to put on a dress like apparently Kim and Emily had but I still got stuck with a fairy crown and a magic stick which didn't do much other than covering everything in its path with glitter.

"I hate dress ups." I muttered once my make-over was complete and the girls had moved on to their next target.

"Well, I think you look dashing." Paul grinned but I couldn't take him seriously when his face looked like a glitter bomb had exploded in it.

"You look ridiculous." I snorted.

"So do you." He grinned.

I sat next to Paul in silence while I watched Claire and Angela trying to get Seth to play their horse, which strangely enough he did not have a problem with.

"Sorry I pushed you the other day." Paul suddenly muttered.

I hadn't really expected him to apologise. I've never heard him say he's sorry and by the look on Jared's face I think it's safe to assume he doesn't do it often, if not ever.

"Well... I'm sorry I called you irresponsible even though it is the truth." I grinned up at him.

He didn't seem to mind my comment, just laughed and continued stuffing his face with birthday cake. Paul is really strange sometimes and a victim of constant mood swings but I guess he's alright. Plus by now I kind of owe him for the whole Kholden thing. But he also owes me for the scars on my arm so I guess that makes us even now.

Eventually the party was coming to an end and Angela looked tired so I decided to go home. I said goodbye to everyone and Angela got a big bear hug from Claire. I think she might have made herself a friend.

"Talk to Jacob." Leah whispered to me when I went to say goodbye.

"Later." I hissed.

I had already put Angela in the car and was making my way to my own seat when someone from the house called me back.

"Erin! Wait up!" Jackie yelled before coming over.

I closed the door of the car without getting in it myself and waited for Jackie to come stand in front of me.

"Is something wrong?" I frown because her suddenly calling out to me like this is not a common occurrence.

"No, I just wanted to have a little talk. Nothing specific." She shrugged.

"Now?" I asked because she kind of picked a strange moment for that. Was it not clear I was about to head home?

"Yeah, why not? So... is there something you want to talk about?"

I frowned. She was acting strange and I couldn't figure out why. If this was her way of trying to revive whatever was left of our old friendship, she should understand that it takes a lot more than her nervous wriggling.

"Not really." But after a while I added. "And you?"

"Well, I was wondering what happened between you and Jacob."

Ah, the real reason of her presence is revealed. She didn't come here to have a friendly chat with me, she came her because she was curious as to why there was such a strange awkwardness between me and Jacob. And as usual, that curiousness was probably eating away at her.

"Let's not get into that."

Mainly because I didn't want to give her the satisfaction.

"It's just that if you want to talk about it-"

"Then I'll talk about it." I cut her short.

"But not with me."

That's when I realised her strange behaviour was not what I thought it was. She wasn't nervous, she was angry. At me. Because I don't feel like sharing something that personal with her. What right did she have to be mad at me?

"Yes, not with you." I replied coldly before opening my car door again.

"But you will with Leah!" She suddenly yells. "And not with me while I've been your friend for as long as we can both remember!"

"Leah has been a far better friend to me than you in the past months! You haven't been a friend at all!" I shout right back at her.

She looks taken aback and maybe she has the right to be. Because this is the first time I've mentioned to her how we are not friends anymore. She's not angry anymore. She looks sorry even and like she wants to say something. But I don't want to hear it anymore because whatever it is, I can't take it after everything that has already happened today. So instead I get into my car and drive away.

I'm still angry while I'm driving, so angry that I forget I'm not alone in this car until her voice breaks through my bubble of exasperation.

"Why you always angry?" Angela asks in a soft and tiny voice.

"I am not always angry!" I snap at her without fully realising that I'm being mean to a three-year old girl who does not even understand the reasons I dislike her, let along all the drama that is going on in my life.

"You always yell at everyone." She says so softly I almost don't hear it, and I wish I hadn't.

Even this little girl, who has never even said a word to me before, thinks I'm a terrible human being and why shouldn't she? I've been nothing but horrible to her and even though I never said it out loud, I can now see in her eyes, that look much too old to belong to a three-year old, that she knows how much I resent her.

I sit on my bed for the next hour trying to undo the damage the conversation with Jackie has done to my sanity. I feel like the world is once again spinning around me and I know there is only one way to slow it down. Without thinking much of it, I press the buttons on my phone to call the one person who will without a doubt make me feel better. Even if I'll have to feel worse first.

"Hi."

I don't want it to be a repeat of this afternoon so I don't greet him back.

"Will you see me?" I ask him hastily.

The real question is can you still stand the sight of me now that I ran away when you were only trying to make me happy?

"Of course." He replies quickly and already he makes me head spin a little slower. "You want me to come to your place?"

"No, meet me at first beach. Half an hour?"

I quickly get changed after Jacob agreed to meet up with me. By now a small drizzle has taken over La Push and I don't want Jacob to get frantic with worry because I'm only wearing a T-shirt.

"Where are you going?" My father asks me when I come downstairs with my jacket on.

"Out." I say without slowing down and shutting the door behind me.

I am convinced he would have told me to stay inside now that it is raining, but it rains all the time in La Push. He just wanted me to be there when Cobbs comes to pick up his daughter this evening, I'm sure.

Jacob isn't there yet when I arrive at first beach but why would he? I'm fifteen minutes early. That at least gives me some time to think over in my head the exact words I will say to him but when he does show up, I still haven't thought of anything.

"I wasn't sure you'd talk to me again." He says with a smile so cautious it breaks my heart.

"Of course." I try to smile widely at him but it comes out sadly when I think of what I'm about to say.

"I shouldn't have sprung the idea on you like that. I could have guessed you wouldn't like living in the same house with me." Jacob said quickly.

"It's not that." I said. "I am scared to move in with you but not for the reason you think. It's not because I don't want to live in the same house with you or because I think our relationship isn't strong enough for it. I'd actually really like to have you around all the time."

I was glad to see the smile slowly return on his face.

This doesn't mean I'm not actually scared of the idea to live together with Jacob because it is fast and totally unexpected. But that is all overruled by another kind of fear.

"But I am scared. Scared to make all these plans for the future with you because what if you won't be there for them? What if a month from now something will happen to you?"

I could sense tears well up in my eyes thinking of what the rest of my life would be like if Jacob wasn't there anymore. It's terrifying.

"Erin, nothing's going to happen to me. What could happen in a mo-"

Jacob stopped because he knew exactly what was coming our way in August.

"The fight with the Volturi? But Erin, I'm not going to fight."

"Yes, you are. At least you should."

"No, I told you-"

"Because I asked you to. The only reason you won't be there is because I asked, begged you not to get involved... And I was wrong to do so." I admitted to him.

"What are you saying?" He frowned.

"I... I take it back. You have to fight with the rest of the pack. If something happens to them and you weren't there to help them, you'd never forgive yourself and I'd never forgive myself for putting you in that position in the first place."

Sobs were trying to make their way out of my throat. I tried to fight them because I didn't want Jacob to know how much pain it actually caused me to say those words, to let him go, fearing he won't come back to me.

"Is this really what you want?" He asked me slowly.

I nodded.

"Then why are you crying?"

I might have been able to suppress the sobs from coming out but I had clearly been less successful when it comes to my tears.

"Because I really am so scared. What if you get hurt? Or worse, what if you-"

The rest of my sentence wasn't clear because it got muffled by my sobs and Jacob who had pressed me closely to his chest.

"Don't even think about that. You don't have to worry about such a thing. I've fought vampires before." He kissed the top of my head repeatedly.

"But not like these ones." I sobbed quietly in his arms.

"It doesn't matter if they're ten years old or a thousand. Knowing you're only a town away is enough motivation to kill every single one of them."

But even Jacob's words couldn't make this fear go away. I guess I'll have to carry it with me for at least another 5 days and then worry every minute of every day during the most excruciating month of the year.

I spend the night at Jacob's place. This time however I told my dad where I was. That was a first. He definitely wouldn't be pleased about it so that's why I only dared to leave it on his voicemail, hoping he wouldn't hear the message until it was too late for him to come drag me home.

I couldn't sleep even though I was really glad to be back in Jacob's arms. Luckily he couldn't find sleep either and we spend the next three hours talking about light things. I found out that Jacob suffered from a severe childhood trauma thanks to his sisters using him as their make-up doll and that his love for cars and motorcycles was actually instigated by Harry Clearwater. In turn I told him about the time I wanted to prove to my dad I could fly and fell out of a tree. The easy topics were just what we needed after Jacob had once again seen me cry. He does that a lot, make me cry. Not because he hurts me but because I realise how much I've got to lose ever since I met Jacob Black.

"Did Paul apologise for what he did?" He suddenly asks me.

"Surprisingly yes." I said.

"He should! Did the moron tell you why he did it?"

"No and I don't think he knows himself why." I pondered.

"He keeps forgetting that you're a frail human." Jacob grumbled.

"Hey! I may be human but I am not frail!" I huffed.

"You are, compared to us."

"A rock is frail compared to you."

He laughed.

Jacob told me he had broken Paul's two front legs aka his arms after what happened at the cliff. He was very disappointed that they healed so quickly. The reason he hadn't come back sooner was because he was still too angry to phase back. He begrudgingly admitted to me that he was angry because of what happened with Paul but also, maybe even more because I hadn't listened to him when he had just been concerned for my wellbeing, he was frustrated with the thought of the upcoming fight he wouldn't participate in and the thought that I wouldn't want to move in with him.

"But you would want to live with me, right?" He changed the subject.

"Can we please discuss this later?" I sighed.

"When?"

"September."

When I can actually consider his offer because I know for sure he's not going anywhere.

_For everyone who thought Erin didn't say yes because she didn't really love Jacob, I hope this changed your mind a little. She really does love him. _


	89. Surprise

_Thanks for all the great reviews __**ForeverTeamEdward13, wolfhappiness, The Wrider, kikikiki, feliciiaab, Alaina08, Prettylittleliarxxx, Guest, ucancallmebob, 108DegreesIsHawt, bookfreak345, bowtiesarecool, Guest, lovesong101, Siren to the Werewolves **__and __**werewolf lover8.**_

**Chapter 89**

31 July. Scariest day of my life. We're only 6 hours away from midnight and this morning it rained. I've kept myself busy so far by helping with the preparations for the wedding but honestly, that just makes me even more depressed.

The whole pack except Nathan and Scott who won't join the fight anyway because somebody has to stay behind to protect the rest of the tribe, is once again at the Cullens where they have been every day so far. I know it's ridiculous and so not one of my biggest concerns right now but I don't like Jacob spending time with Bella. Stupid freaking Bella who has been the cause of so many problems! Why can't she just roll over and die? The chance of that is even smaller now that she's a vampire.

"Why are you scowling?" Kim asked me.

Kim was teaching me how to do my hair for Emily's wedding. It was a hairdo with an overwhelming amount of hairpins and braids. She said it was simple but for someone who's most complicated hairdo is a ponytail, this was hard.

"Just thinking." I shrugged.

"About the fight?" She asked.

I keep forgetting that the other imprints are going through exactly the same thing as me. They seem too calm to me. I'm biting my nails off and pulling at my hair. All they do is talk about the wedding with a big smile on their faces.

"It's all I can think about." I sigh.

"Tell me about it. I had a panic attack this morning because it was raining. I think my mother wants me to go see a shrink."

I smiled a little but I know I was freaking out as well when I looked outside of my window this morning.

"All done." Kim smiled suddenly.

I looked in the mirror just to make sure she didn't permanently damage my hair. She did a good job. My hair was put up with pins situated strategically and with only a small part of my hair covering my neck. There were two braids from the side to the back and all I kept thinking about was, how the hell am I going to do that myself on the day of the wedding?

"Where's Emily?" Zoe suddenly asks.

Kim had done my hair first and was now doing the same for Zoe.

"She's upstairs with her mom. Mother-daughter bonding I guess." Kim shrugged.

Emily's mother wasn't what I had expected at all. I assumed she would be like an older version of her daughter, just as warm and welcoming. But she wasn't. I'm not saying Lily Young was a mean woman but there wasn't the same vibe around her as there was around Emily. She also made it pretty clear she wasn't completely satisfied with the man her daughter chose to marry. Emily seemed pretty close with her mom though. She was smiling the entire day because she was coming over.

"Is there anything left to do?" I asked Kim.

Kim was given the title of maid of honour. Emily said she didn't want to have to chose between us but it made sense. Kim was the second person who had been imprinted on, she and Emily have known each other longer. I think Emily was very glad with Kim's help. She's much more organised than me, Jackie and Zoe combined.

"No, I think everything is set for today."

"Perfect." I grinned and jumped on the couch.

I hadn't really fallen asleep but I was just resting my eyes. Needless to say I've been having trouble sleeping lately because of the stress. It doesn't help that Jacob's hardly present at night. He might have turned into a workaholic. So I hadn't been sleeping but I was still taken by surprise when I opened my eyes again and there were suddenly a lot more people in the room. The pack was back from the Cullens and Kim was making sure they all had their tux for the wedding.

"I told you, Kim. I have a tux at home." Alex sighed.

"Which you haven't worn for the past three years. I told you to try it on again before the wedding." Kim was persistent.

"Oh, for the love of God, just go try it on and make her shut up!" Leah snapped.

Kim and Jared were upset/angry over her little comment but I was watching Alex face lighting up when his imprint told him what he could do for her. He was out the door faster than Jared could growl at Leah.

I don't know exactly where Leah and Alex are in their relationship right now because she isn't very open about it. I do know that they've attempted to spend some time together, two hours every day. He finally found the ability to start up a conversation with her but she was still being her snappy self, not really trying to help the conversation along. But he didn't seem to be bother by it. He actually smiles every time he makes her scowl. I guess he really is perfect for her then.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by a large hand extended towards me. Jacob was smiling down to me.

"You done here?"

I nodded and let him pull me up. Without saying a proper goodbye to everyone, he steered me outside towards my car. Somehow he had gotten his hands on my keys.

"Where are we going?"

We might as well have been on our way to either of our houses but by the way Jacob was smiling secretively made me think he had planned something specific.

"It's a surprise." He smiled brightly.

I groan. I really hate surprises. I think I've had enough of those to last me a lifetime. But at least Jacobs' will probably be a pleasant one. Maybe.

"You'll like this." He says. "I think."

"You think?"

Suddenly he pulls the car to the side of the road, in the middle of nowhere and gets out. I quickly follow him.

"Where are we?" I ask him.

"We're still in La Push."

He starts walking straight into the forest and I have no other option but to follow him.

"You're just going to leave my car there?"

"Don't worry. No one hardly ever comes down this road and who would want to steal your car anyway?"

I huffed.

Jacob is making himself a path with ease since he's used to walking in the forest. But for me it's a lot more complicated. My feet get stuck behind roots and branches keep slapping into my face.

"Damn it!" I shout when I fall flat on my face.

Jacob finally turns around and comes back to where I'm lying on the ground 5 feet behind him.

"You okay?" He asked me while extended his hand to me again.

"No, I am not okay!" I shout while slapping his hand away and getting up myself. "Why are we walking through the forest? I want to go back! I don't care about the surprise because I hate surprises!"

I sound like a spoiled brat, like usually but I really am getting so annoyed by all of this. For a surprise I didn't even want. This might as well be my way of letting out my frustrations once again but I'm still screaming at Jacob.

"You'll like this one." He's still smiling at me.

"You say that every time and I never do!"

"You liked the necklace." He smiles at me while touching it.

True, I liked that. A lot. It was the first gift he ever gave me and meant more to me than I'll ever be able to tell him.

"Come on." He gathers me in his arms and lifts me up.

"What are you doing?" I shriek.

"Making sure you're not tripping over anything else." He grins and I can't help but smile at him.

We walk, well he walks, in silence for another three minutes. I've put my head on his shoulder in the meantime and am actually at peace right now. But suddenly he stops and gently puts me back on my own two feet. When I turn around I see we're at a small beach, somewhere I've never been before. When I say small, I mean tiny. The beach wasn't even five metres long. In the middle of it sits a blanket surrounded by candles.

"So what do you think?" He asks me a little nervously.

"It's such a terrible cliché." I smile at him.

I press my lips to his and pull him closer to me. I might hate terrible clichés and over romantic gestures but it's different with Jacob. I know this gesture comes straight from his heart, reaching out to mine. I don't want to let him go so soon but he's already pulling away.

"Are you hungry?" He takes my hand and leads me towards the blanket.

During our pick nick on the beach I learn that Jacob knows practically everything there is to know about me. He's gathered all my favourite food and seems to have an anecdote about it concerning me on every single one of them.

"You drank ice tea the first time I spoke to you." He says while pouring me another glass. "When I told you I was sorry for the way I acted on the beach and you told me your name."

"How do you even know those things?" I say in awe.

"I've watched you for a long time."

"Should I be creped out by that?" I laugh.

"I'm sure you know those things about me."

"I have no idea what you were eating or drinking every moment we met up but I do remember every conversation you and I have ever had. "I smile and he smiles back at me.

I'm pretty relaxed tonight, compared to the past days. But when I notice how close we are to midnight now, only one hour left, I start to freak out again. Jacob notices how I suddenly tense up while I've been lying relaxed in his arms during the entire evening. He tightens his grip on me but doesn't say anything. He knows there's nothing he can say.

"We should probably head back." He says. "It's getting late."

I nod and we get up. Jacob gathers all our things in his arms and smiled apologising at me.

"You'll have to walk back on your own."

I tell him that's okay. I'm not a little child that needs to be carried everywhere.

"Did you like the beach?" He asks when we walk back to the forest line.

"It's really beautiful." I smile at him.

"Good, because you see that path?" He asks me.

He points towards a path leading up to higher grounds. The path is almost completely overgrown but I can still see it. I can't see where it leads to though.

"Where does it go to?"

"The Kellmann place." He grins.

I shake my head. Even now he finds ways to remind me of what he asked me. The other day I accompanied him to the hardware store because he needed some stuff for his car. He stopped at almost everything, pointing out how we could use them for fixing up the Kellmann place. I try not to pay too much attention to it but when he keeps bringing it up, it's hard to not think about it. But it has been convenient as well. He told me that the place needed so much repairs that it would take at least a year to make it liveable. I didn't know that before.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. September." He sighs.

We get to the car quicker than it took for us to get to the beach and this time I only tripped once. Luckily I was able to prevent myself from falling by grabbing on to Jacob's biceps.

When he pulls into my driveway, I don't step out just yet.

"Will you stay tonight?" I ask him.

It might be a silly question because the nights where we don't sleep in the same bed are extremely rare. But I just needed him more than usually tonight. If it suddenly starts raining, I need him to be there and tell me what to do because once that happens, I'll be completely lost.

"Of course." He smiles at me. "I'll go through your window."

He makes a move to open the car door but I stop him.

"Wait. Come through the front door."

"Your dad's home." He frowns.

"I know." I smile softly at him before getting out of the car and leading the way to the front door.

After a few seconds I hear him getting out as well and following me. I'm thinking I should be nervous about this. Blatantly telling my dad Jacob's staying the night, or maybe asking would be better, is kind of scary but I feel like it's a necessary step to take.

My dad's sitting in our living room watching the television with Bryan. He greets me when he hears me enter the house and goes quiet when he notices my hand is attached to Jacob's. He doesn't glare at him like he usually does so that's a good sign, right?

"Is it okay if Jacob stays the night?" I ask him carefully, grabbing Jacob's hand a little tighter.

My brother's eyes get really big at my question and he's definitely not following the movie anymore. Strangely enough, my dad doesn't have the same reaction. No swearing, no nothing. He almost looks like he expected this question.

"No funny business." He glares at Jacob making it clear that he can only stay as long as he keeps his hands to himself.

"Of course, sir." He tries not to smile but he isn't that good at it.

"What?! Dad, her room is right next to mine. The walls are paper thin! I don't want to be scarred for life!" Bryan interrupts.

Please, the walls are not paper thin. He'd have heard us a lot sooner.

"There's nothing to hear." I tell him before pulling Jacob up the stairs with me.

"I can't believe your dad was so... calm about it!" Jacob exclaims when he throws himself on my bed.

I shrug and go lie on top of him. I quickly press my lips hard against him and my hands travel to his shirt. He suddenly pulls away.

"Erin, you're dad said no funny business."

"So?" I lean back in but Jacob once again pulls away.

"I gave him my word, I'm not going to take advantage of him trusting me with his daughter."

I sit back on my knees.

"You're serious?" I frown.

"Yeah."

"I know I should have let you come through the window;" I sigh but don't make another attempt to get him naked.

"What do you want to do then?" I ask him.

"How about sleeping?"

"I'm not tired yet." I pout.

"We can talk." He smiles.

"I have nothing to say to you." I tease.

"They predict sun for the next five days." He changes the light banter to a way more serious conversation.

"The weatherman is usually wrong." I cross my arms in front of my chest.

"Not this time. It'll stay sunny for a long time."

He pulls me down next to him and lets me cuddle into his side. I'm glad he's holding me rather tightly to him.

"You think we'll make it to the wedding?" I ask him.

"I do."

That makes me a little happier. Wedding are a happy event and we could use a little more of that right now. Emily deserved to at least get the wedding before having to stress about Sam's safety.

"Are you a good dancer?" I suddenly wonder.

"I don't know. I didn't step on any toes last time." He says.

"When was last time?"

I didn't think much of the question but apparently the answer means something because he takes a long time before giving it to me.

"At Bella's wedding." He sighs.

Oh. That explains the silence.

"Did you dance with her?"

It shouldn't matter because it's in the past and I think we weren't even dating yet when she got married but still I don't want her to have done something with Jacob that I haven't, even if it's something as trivial as dancing.

"Yes." He sighs.

I can feel the green little monster rising to the surface again even though I am trying to suppress it.

"Oh." Is all I say.

I don't mean to punish him for something so ridiculous but I can't help to pull away a little.

"Please Erin. That was such a long time ago." He tries to keep his hold on me.

"I know." I reply.

"Then why are you suddenly acting so coldly?"

He's right. And so I relax in his embrace again instead of trying to get out of it.

"Sorry." I mumble. "I just didn't know you went to her wedding."

I'm not too pleased that he actually continues the conversation because I really don't want to talk about her anymore but I do realise that I would have been equally pissed off if he tried to evade the subject.

"I didn't want to go." He sighs. "But Seth thought it might exactly be what I needed to put her behind me. So I could start fresh with you."

"You can never start fresh." I scoff.

"Sure you can. I did."

I change my position so I'm lying right on top of him and I can look him straight in the eye.

"Do you honestly believe that? Every relationship you've ever had before me and everything that has ever happened to you influenced your life and indirectly influences our relationship." I tell him.

"What? How does Bella affect us?" He asks me in surprise.

"She hurt you, Jacob." I softly say. "She really, really hurt you. That's a part of you. Forever. Even now when it's in the past. She left some serious scars on you. You're so damn insecure when it comes to me loving you and I know that she's to blame for it. You're always so afraid that one day I'm going to stop loving you, because she made you feel like you weren't good enough for her."

He stayed silent. For a moment I regretted the words that had just left my mouth. There was no need to make him depressed over something that we can't change anymore.

"You're damn insecure too." He says eventually.

"I know." I smile. "But we're working on that."

"And you're often jealous." He points out one of my other many flaws.

"I usually have a reason to be." I scoff.

"No, you don't. Especially with Bella. She's a vampire."

"I know." I sigh. "But I just... I hate her."

"How can you hate her? You only saw her once."

That one time was more than enough. But the truth is, I hated her way before I even met her.

"Didn't you listen to anything I just said? I hate her because of what she did. How can I not hate the person who caused you so much pain in the past? I'm just being a good vengeful girlfriend."

"And what a good girlfriend you are." He smiles.

He presses his lips hungrily against mine and finally, for the first time in 5 days, I don't think about the fact that we're August now.


	90. August

_I want to thank __**kikikiki, d112hpfan, bookfreak345, ucancallmebob, sundaysolis, Fandemondwriter, Guest, 108DegreesIsHawt, AlwaysNorthman, Alaina08, LJMoore **__and __**Alenerien. **__Thanks for all the reviews! :)_

_Just to be clear about the previous chapter: Erin's dad being nice to Jacob and allowing him to spend the night, was all him. Jasper's influence on him has long passed. _

**Chapter 90**

The weatherman wasn't completely wrong. Because today is Sam and Emily's wedding day and the sun is shining brightly with no cloud to see, just like yesterday. We're at the church right now, in the back. Kim eventually had to help me do my hair because just like I had predicted, I was incapable of doing it myself. All the bridesmaids were dressed and ready. Emily was just getting the final touches.

"I'm so nervous." She whispers.

"What do you have to be nervous about? I'm sure he'll say 'I do'." I smile.

She laughs.

"I know, but what if I trip while walking down the ail?"

"I hadn't even thought about that yet." Kim says. "You'll do fine."

Kim was still doing a hundred and one things at the same time. I felt kind of useless just watching her taking care of everything. I was on calming Emily down duty. She had been nervous all morning but I guess it makes sense since it's her wedding day. Zoe was explaining to Claire what she would be doing today. She was the flower girl, it was an obvious choice. Jackie on the other hand was just sitting in her chair, not paying any attention to what was happening and being said around her. She appeared to be sulking. At first I thought she was still upset over what I had said to her about a week ago but she didn't give me any uncomfortable looks so I'm guessing her mood doesn't have anything to do with me.

"I look pwetty, wight?" Claire asked anyone who dared to make eye contact with her.

"You look absolutely beautiful." Was the answer we all gave her because she'd throw a tantrum if we'd say otherwise.

"Quil said I looked gowgious!" She smiled widely.

"When did you see Quil?" I frowned.

The pack wasn't here yet, matter of fact they were way too late. The only reason Emily isn't panicking by the thought that her fiancée won't be present on their wedding day, is because we all thought it was best not to tell her.

"Before, in the hallway." Claire simply said.

We didn't say anything but we all looked really relieved at each other. If we had to delay this marriage, Emily would never pick up the courage again to walk down that ail.

"Ready?" Kim asked her before putting on the final touches.

"No." Emily whines.

"You will be. Good luck."

I feel kind of bad for leaving Emily standing all alone in the hallway but we are supposed to be standing at the altar when she walks down the ail with her father.

"You look beautiful." I hear Zoe whisper to her before the four of us enter the church.

Sam is standing by the altar, as he should be, and he doesn't look nervous at all. He looks exactly like a man who is about to marry the love of his life. Jared, Paul, Jacob and Embry are standing by his side while the rest of the pack is seated somewhere in the front, Quil with Claire sitting on his lap who is clearly worn out from walking the whole way with her tiny basket. Jacob stands second on the right and outshines all of them. I am actually surprised that I find him just as attractive in a tux as I find him without a shirt on. He smiles brightly at me and I return his smile.

Everyone's attention goes out to Emily when the music starts playing and she walks in the church. The look on Sam's face is indescribable and makes me feel almost jealous of what they have. I need to actually remind myself that I have the same thing with Jacob, that people should be jealous of what we have as well.

I am too lost in this romantic and epic moment that it's only after an hour that I spot the only face that isn't looking happy today. I can't believe I forgot about Leah and how this whole day must make her feel. We hadn't discussed anything about the wedding in front of her because we didn't want to hurt her feelings but clearly we failed to do that in the end. I was a little relieved that she looked more angry than hurt but the hurt was still there. I knew it was. If I had hoped that maybe Alex's presence would make this a little easier, I was sorely mistaken. He was sitting next to her, yes, but when he tried to reach for her hand, she scooted to the very edge of the bench they were sitting on and she would glare just a little harder than before at the happy couple.

"I pronounce you now husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

The ceremony was eventually over and after Sam and Emily shared about the most inappropriate kiss this church has ever seen, they made their way out of the building.

"You look breathtaking." Jacob smiled at me when I linked my arm in his to walk behind Sam and Emily.

"Thanks. You look amazing as well." I stare at him instead of watching where I walk.

"You sound almost surprised."

"I am. I thought your best look was stark naked but apparently wedding chic comes very close." I grin at him and he's actually trying to hide the blush creeping up on him.

"Could you do something for me?" Jacob asks me when we're driving to Sam and Emily's house, where they've put up a big party tent in their backyard.

"Sure." I smile at him.

Jacob hardly ever asks me anything so if there's something I could do to help him, I'll gladly give it my all.

"I know you and Jackie aren't really talking at the moment, but I was hoping you would talk to her today."

"Why?"

What could possibly be in it for Jacob to ask me such a thing?

"She and Embry had a fight and she's now refusing to talk to him."

"So you're asking me this as a favour to Embry." I scowl.

"If it was the other way around, he'd help me."

"I'd like to think you'd have the balls to come talk to me yourself if we had a fight."

"I would and so would he. He tried but she won't tell him what is bothering her."

I just crossed my arms in front of me and glared at the road. If I would talk again to Jackie, I wanted it to be on my own terms, not because her boyfriend can't work things out with her himself.

"Erin?"

"Fine! I'll do it. But I'm not happy about it."

"You're an angel." He pulled me close and kissed the top of my head before parking the car close to Sam and Emily's house.

Angel? Yeah, right. I'm only doing this because Jacob asked me, not because I want to help out the sickening couple.

"Will you do it now?" Jacob asked me as soon as we reached the tent where people were drinking, eating, laughing and dancing. And Jackie was sitting in a corner, scowling.

"Can I at least get a drink first?" I huff.

"Of course."

Jacob hands me a drink almost immediately and smiles at me as if to say 'Now?'. So I give in because else we'll spend the rest of the day like this, me huffing and Jacob asking me when I'm going to talk to Jackie.

When I sit down in the chair next to her, she looks at me in utter surprise, with her eyes gone all wide and her mouth threatening to fall open.

"Hi."

What an ice breaker, right? But at least she greeted me back and the conversation was surprisingly enough absent of awkward silences.

"Why are you sulking? It's supposed to be a happy day." I cut straight to the chase, well not completely since I knew the reason of her bad mood was the fight with Embry.

"It's nothing. I'm not sulking."

Jeez, her pretending like she isn't in a bad mood is extremely annoying and it kind of makes me think of all those times she never told me what was bothering her when I could clearly see that something was eating away at her.

"I know you had a fight with Embry." I sigh annoyed.

"How do you know that?!"

"Because your boyfriend has been bitching about it to my boyfriend."

"Embry talked about it with Jacob?"

The idea seemed horrifying to her and I find myself suddenly very curious to find out what the fight was about. Due to Jackie's expression, I'm guessing it's quite the embarrassing subject.

"What was the fight about anyway?"

"Why do you care?" She suddenly snaps. "You made it very clear last week that we aren't friends anymore, we aren't anything anymore."

Here I was, making an effort to help her with a problem that really wasn't any of my business and she's being annoying about it. It's not worth it.

"Fine." I snap. "Figure it out yourself!"

I get up and try to walk away when her hand grips my wrist to stop me.

"Wait." She sighs. "I didn't mean to yell at you. It's just... I never had a fight with Embry before, at least not like this."

"I could be of help if you tell me what it was about." I try.

She's hesitating to tell me. Probably because I made it clear that I don't want to listen to her problems before or maybe that subject really is that embarrassing.

"I wanted to give Embry something." She starts eventually. "But he refused."

"That's it? You had a fight because Embry wouldn't accept some gift?" I frowned.

"Not just some gift." She mumbled. "My virginity."

I would have spit out my drink if my glass hadn't been empty. Instead I settled for sitting down in my seat and staring at her with an O-shaped mouth.

"Oh."

"Yeah."' She hung her head.

"Wait, he refused?" I asked her after thinking very long and hard on what I was going to say to her about this.

"Yep, said he didn't want to."

Ouch. It completely makes sense why she's been so down and depressed today. I remembered how I felt very unappealing when Jacob had refused to do the same with me but at least he had immediately explained to me why he didn't want to yet. But Jackie doesn't have a wound that needs to heal first.

"Why didn't he want to?"

"I don't know." She sounds like she's on the verge of tears. "He wouldn't tell me. He just said that he didn't want to."

"Because he's not ready?" I tried but seriously, what kind of guy isn't ready to finally have sex with his girlfriend for over a year?

"Maybe he just doesn't think I'm attractive?"

"No way. Not with how he looks at you. He thinks you're very attractive. That cannot be the reason why."

"Then what is?" She sighed exasperated.

"I don't know. Maybe it was just bad timing?" I tried.

It was a very random guess but even though she couldn't confirm it, it got me thinking about something else.

"Why now though?" I asked her. "Why not next month?"

"Because I wanted it now, I'm ready now."

"Did you want to sleep with Embry because it's an experience you wanted to share with your boyfriend or is it a way for you to say goodbye?"

"What?! Why would you think that?"

"Because it's probably what Embry is thinking."

It was starting to make sense to me now. If Jackie only wanted to have sex with Embry because she thought she wouldn't get another chance to, then it's almost normal Embry didn't want to. At least not now.

"You really think so?" She asked carefully.

"Yeah, but there's only one way to find out." I look towards Embry who's sitting at the other side of the tent, sulking just like Jackie had been doing before I sat down next to her.

"What if that's not it but he really doesn't want to be with me in that way?"

Suddenly she reminds me of the 6-year old girl who cried to me and Andy because Thomas Zollanger pushed her down and called her ugly when she had just been trying to be nice to him or when she had seen Andy kiss another girl a short time before the two of them had gotten back together. Maybe I don't want to throw this long friendship away after all.

"You're his imprint. There is no way he wouldn't want you." I reassure her.

I decided to leave her to it now so she could pick up the courage to go talk to Embry. Knowing her the way I'd do, it will take some time.

"Erin?"

I had already gotten up when she called out my name.

"You didn't have to come talk to me and help me with this."

I shrugged. What would I have done instead? It still upset me to see her like this.

"You were right, when you said I didn't deserve to call myself your friend. Because I haven't been your friend at all lately. But I'm going to fix it. I'm going to try to get us back to the way we used to be. Because I'm not ready to give up on our lifelong friendship."

"Jackie..." I started. "I don't think we can go back to the way we used to be. Everything is different now."

"But don't you think that maybe, if I try really hard, we can at least be friends again?" She almost begged me.

"Maybe." I smile at her before leaving her so she can go talk to Embry.

I want to believe that me and Jackie can be friends again but so much has happened, she has let me down so many times. Maybe too many times? I guess we'll just have to see what happens. Who knows? Maybe if she, if we did try really hard, we'd get back a part of our old friendship? I certainly hope we can.

I see Jacob making his way over to me from the other side of the tent. He had been talking to Emily's mother but was now smiling at me.

"I love you, you know?" He kissed me softly in the neck.

"I know." I smile.

"Thank you for doing that."

"Believe it or not, I don't think I did it completely for you." I say softly but he still heard me loud and clear.

"Who did you it for then?" He grabs my hand and holds it tightly in his own.

"I don't know: me, Jackie, for the memory of our friendship? Lets not think about it right now. Right now I want to see if you really are as good a dancer as you claim to be." I laugh before pulling him with me on the dance floor.

Leah POV

I watch Erin pull Jacob with her to the dance floor. I like Erin, I really do. She's not as prissy or oversensitive as the other imprints but there is one thing about her that I will always hate. The fact that after all the heart ache and trouble she went through, she got her happy ending. She suffered at the hands of her brother, her mother and even Jacob but after all that, she is truly happy now. And I hate her for it. Because in a way she is as dark and bitter and fucked up like I am. But she is happy and I'm still just all of those things.

I watch Alex laughing with his brother across the dance floor. My supposedly ticket out of my miserable existence. My knight on a white horse. But not really. I've tried to hang out with him, I've forced myself to spend at least an hour a day in his presence. He's nice, he really is. In the eyes of every girl he is the perfect catch: friendly, charming, funny, strong. But I'm supposed to be have fallen head over heels for him by now and I haven't.

When he sees me looking at him, he cuts short the conversation he was having and walks over to where I'm sitting all by myself.

"Hi Leah." He smiles brightly at me.

He does that a lot. Smile at me as if my presence is so awesome. I don't see why he would think such a thing.

"You look really..." He can't seem to come up with words after that.

"Really what?" I try not to snap but do so anyway.

"I can't think of a word that will describe you. How do you explain what happiness looks like?"

And sometimes he says things like that. I don't know how to respond to that because I don't know if he's mocking me or actually being sincere.

"Yes, I'm a real ray of sunshine." I grumble.

"You are to me." He says simply.

How can he say such things? About me? Grumpy, bitchy Leah.

"We could leave, you know?" He glances at Sam and Emily while thinking I don't notice. "Nobody would blame you for not being here."

It sounds tempting, it really does. But Alex implied the tow of us leaving, together, and that's just as awkward and depressing as watching those two dance with ridiculous bright smiles on their faces.

I tell him no.

"You should at least have some fun then." He tries to pull me to my feet.

"What do you think you're doing?" I snap.

"We're going to dance."

I'm glad that I'm a werewolf as well right now because he's using all his strength to drag me to the dance floor but I'm resisting just as hard. Which means we find ourselves in some kind of tug war until he finally releases his grip on me and I almost fall back in my chair.

"I'm trying, Leah!" He suddenly snaps angrily at me.

I've never seen him get angry before. It's kind of strange to witness. He's usually all bubbly and happy, the exact opposite of me.

"I'm trying so hard but you just won't budge. And I can't give up, you know I can't. I don't want to either but God, you're so fucking tiresome!"

I almost laugh out loud because it is so strange to see relaxed and smiley Alex Longfree lose his cool like this. And he just said fucking. Alex Longfree does not swear, especially not around me.

"You have to meet me halfway, Leah, you have to or this will wreck me." He sighs and he really does look tired and desperate.

I feel a pang of guilt because I know he's tired and desperate because of me. Actually, it's not just a pang of guilt. It's a wave of that shit. And I am suddenly overwhelmed with this need to make it right, to please him. So I, in what I can only describe as a moment where something other than me posses my body, take his hand and pull him with me to the dance floor.

He just stares at me as if I've gone insane, I probably have but I still put my arms around his neck and allow him to hold me in return.

"I'm confused." He says after we've danced silently for a good two minutes.

"Just stop trying so goddamn hard. It's annoying." I snap before I allow myself to pull him just a tad closer to me.

If I had hoped he wouldn't notice, I was going to be disappointed because the moment he realised it, he smiled like some crazy orang-utan.

"Not a word." I threaten him when he opens his mouth, probably to comment on our close proximity.

"I'm not that stupid." He smiled and carefully pulls me even a tad closer to him.

And I actually let him. Maybe Erin had a point when she said this would slowly creep up on me.

Erin POV

We stayed until 2 o'clock in the morning. I still wanted to stay because for the first time in over two weeks, I felt relaxed. But Jacob was clearly tired and was pretending not to be for my sake. So in turn I just pretended that I was tired as well and let Jacob take me home.

We fell asleep pretty fast. Maybe I had been more tired that I had thought.

I got pulled out of my sweet slumber by a jab in my side. I tried to ignore it but it's pretty hard to fall back asleep when someone keeps poking my side.

"Go away." I grumbled incomprehensively and try to swat away the annoying hand without such luck.

"Erin?"

Why the hell is Jacob trying to wake me up? There is no way it's already morning and if he wanted some affection, he should have thought about that before we went to bed.

"Erin!" He says more urgent and I reluctantly force my eyes to open.

Jacob is staring at me with unmasked worry, fear and almost horror in his eyes. I'm wide awake now.

"What is it?"

He seems to dread the next words that leave his mouth.

"It's raining."

_I'd also like to thank __**Fandemondwriter **__specifically for giving me the idea to write from Leah's POV. Thanks!_


	91. Come what may

_Thank you __**Fandemondwriter, Adids14, d112hpfan, Guest, sunshineandstars, purplecheer14, guardgirl414, cullensrule, kikikiki, sundaysolis, noblebeauty, bookfreak345, nene82743, Sugar-Ice, werewolf lover8, sPaRkzZz **__and __**Alenerien**__ for reviewing. _

_For the people who didn't understand why it's such a bad thing it started raining in the previous chapter, let me explain. Alice Cullen had a vision in which she saw when the fight against the Volturi will take place and saw that it would happen on the first rainy day of August. Since it is now August in my story, the fact that it started raining, means the pack has to fight the Volturi now. Everyone still following?_

_Of course I ended my previous chapter with a cliff-hanger. I love keeping you in suspense :) _

_Some of you seemed really enthusiastic about Leah/Alex. I hadn't really meant for their relationship to play a big part in this story. To answer the question if I might write a separate story about them: sorry but I'm not planning on it._

**Chapter 91**

Leaving my house and driving to Emily's happened in a daze for me. Neither I nor Jacob had said anything after we had seen the thick drops hit my window. What was there to say anyway? Good luck? I wanted to come up with something to say to him that would give him hope, that would make him try even harder than before but the only thing I could come up with was 'Please don't go'. And after everything, I couldn't ask him that again.

We had gone through the basics of the plan a few days prior to this day. All the imprints would gather at Emily's house before the pack left for Forks. Nathan and Scott would stay behind to protect the imprints. It's not us whose safety I'm worried about.

I contemplated grabbing Jacob's hand but eventually decided against it. What good would it do anyway? It wouldn't make him feel any better about leaving and I'm certain it won't calm my nerves either. It might just make it harder for him to leave afterwards.

If I had ever hoped a car drive would last forever, it was this one. I hated the moment Jacob pulled up into Sam and Emily's driveway. If it was up to me, I would have stayed in the car forever but Jacob got out and I was forced to follow him inside the house.

The atmosphere in the house was just as gloomy as it had been in the car. Almost everyone was already there, only Jackie, Embry and Paul were missing. I followed Jacob into the kitchen where he talked to Sam who apparently just got off the phone with Carlisle Cullen.

"Everyone is already there. They're waiting for us. They don't know exactly when the Volturi will arrive."

"We should get going then." Jacob said without any emotion in his voice.

Sam nodded.

"We're just waiting for Seth and Paul, they're on their way."

It was only a matter of minutes now before Jacob will leave. Why can't I think of anything to say?

"We'll leave soon. I'll say goodbye to Emily."

Sam left the kitchen so me and Jacob were left alone in the room.

"Jacob..." I eventually said but I couldn't force any other word out of my throat.

He turned to me but didn't say anything either. He slowly reached out and pulled me against him. He kept me so close that my feet lifted off the floor because of the height difference and I felt as if I was melting into him.

Nothing in the word will ever compare to this and I was hit with the realisation that this could be the last time I'd experience it myself. I know Jacob said everything would be fine but how can I believe that when everyone has been acting so grave about this day? Losing Jacob seemed suddenly so real and I couldn't help the sobs that wrecked through my body.

"Please don't cry, Erin." I heard Jacob's muffled voice from where he had buried it into my hair, heavy with emotion now as well.

I couldn't help it. No matter how much I tried to not cry, the tears and the sobs just kept coming. I tried to hold on even tighter to him, especially when I heard the voices from the living room get louder, announcing the arrival of the three people we had been waiting for.

"If anything happens to you..." I spoke softly in his ear but couldn't end the rest of the sentence.

"Nothing will happen to me." He said loud and clear.

I nodded but I don't know if I really believe that.

"Jacob?" Brady entered the kitchen, at least I'm guessing it's Brady by his voice because my head it still pressed into the crook of Jacob's neck. "I'm sorry mate, but we have to get going."

Brady had already left the kitchen again when Jacob started to pull away. I didn't want to let him go because I knew the minute I did, he'd leave so I clung to him even tighter than before.

"Erin..." He tried to put a little more force into pulling us apart.

"No." I whined but there was no use.

Jacob was a lot stronger than me so eventually the embrace came to an end.

"Everything will be fine." He tells me once again.

He smiles at me and even though it's clearly forced, I want to return it. But my smile just looks like a sad grimace and Jacob's smile falls. He looks me deeply in the eyes when he softly grabs my face into his hands and presses his lips hungrily to mine. It is a strange kiss, nothing like all the others we've shared before. It's gentle, sad and demanding at the same time. If everything's going to be fine, then why does this feel like a goodbye?

The kiss is over way too fast and before I can say anything else, or at least try to get any words out, Jacob leaves the room. This was it. There were still so many things I could have said but I've missed my chance. Please, let him be okay. I can't live without him.

It takes me at least forty minutes before I can put myself back together again and enter the living room to see what state the other imprints are in. They aren't any better off than me. Emily is crying quietly on the couch with Zoe who looks as terrible as her, trying to comfort her. It can't be doing much to help because her tears just intensify Emily's. Claire's here as well. She seems to be just making a drawing but I can tell by her uneasiness that she must have some inkling of what's going on. Kim's the lucky one. She has fallen asleep on the couch and at least doesn't have to worry right now. Of course, I don't know what she's dreaming about. Probably won't be anything happy. Jackie is standing in front of the window, staring out in the darkness. I join her in that because at least it will give me the illusion that they will come back any moment now.

"They'll be fine." She says eventually.

"Of course." I say.

But it is clear that neither of us believe that.

"Did you make up?" I ask her eventually because the silence is killing me and only hearing Zoe and Emily's quiet sobs in the background is making me even more depressed than I already am.

"We did." She smiles softly.

I figured they must have. You don't want the man you love to leave for a dangerous fight when you aren't talking to each other.

"Did you...?"

I know it's a very personal thing and if I remember correctly I once told her I wouldn't want to know about it but now I'm curious. Even more so when she blushed.

"No, we didn't. He said it would be something to look forward to." She said.

I nod because I can tell she wants this conversation to be over, or at least this topic.

"You and Jacob okay? Because the last time I saw you two together, before the wedding that is, things seemed a bit tense. I'm not butting in, just making sure you're okay."

The way she talked about it to me is definitely an improvement compared to last time. And maybe because I want to tell someone other than Leah, I open up to Jackie.

"We weren't really in a fight, you know. I was just freaking out because he asked me to move in with him."

Jackie tares her eyes away from the window for the first time since I've come to stand next to her and stares at me with a look of disbelief on her face.

"Wha-... What did you say?"

"You mean before or after I ran?"

She laughs a little and I do to. Not because it's that funny but because it's not depressing or sad. It's a nice change.

"I told him we'd talk about it, after this whole thing is over. We'll talk about it in September, when they're back." I tell her.

"It's only the third of August right now. They're not going to be gone an entire month." She says.

I know that. They're either gone for a day or they're gone for good.

"I still have to figure out what to tell him about it." I admit to her.

I hadn't allowed myself to think about the possibility, really think about it and picture myself living in a house with Jacob. Eating together, sleeping together, doing pretty much everything side by side. I can't think about that now.

"Your dad will kill him." She smiles softly.

Oh my God! My dad! I hadn't even thought about what he'd think of all of this. If I do go along with it, and I'm definitely not saying that I am, I'll have to tell my dad. And he in turn will probably castrate Jacob. That's something I'm sure he's thought of lots of time since I told him I was dating Jacob Black.

"Right..." I mumble.

"You should do it." She says eventually.

"What?"

"Move in with him, live together. You should do it."

"Why?" I ask her the question I've been asking myself as well.

Why? Why should I do it? Why now? I've come up with at least twenty reasons why I shouldn't do it, and twenty as well for why I should do it. But none of those reasons seemed like the right one, the one that could convince me to choose the right direction.

"It's not just because he imprinted on you. Embry imprinted on me and there are still so many things we don't know or understand about each other. But Jacob... He gets you. Completely and to the very core. You've shown sides of yourself to him that I hadn't even had the privilege to see. He's seen you at your very worst and he's not going anywhere. Even between shape-shifters and their imprints, that's rare. It's strange how the two of you gravitate around each other. It's not just you who's his gravity, he's yours as well. Sam has a theory that he didn't tell you. He thinks because Jacob is the rightful alpha, your imprint bond is stronger than the others. It's almost like you imprinted on him as well."

I wanted to laugh out loud at what she's saying. I'm not a shape-shifter. I can't imprint. But as ridiculous as that may sound, all the rest is true. The way my entire life shifted until it was built entirely around him. This pull I felt towards him since the moment I met him. I've never heard the other imprints talk about feeling such a pull.

"Seth told me that you said imprinting is a two-way street, that you felt connected to Jacob since the first time you met him. It wasn't like that for me. Embry really had to grow on me. And even now, after we've been together for this long, I don't understand what he needs the way you do with Jacob."

"You're saying Jacob and I love each other more than you and Embry?" I frown in confusion.

"No, of course not! But it's different, you just understand each other better. I don't know if I'm explaining this the right way, it's just... Nothing will ever be able to tare you apart, so no matter what you decide about moving in, it will be okay."

"Thanks Jackie."

I think I needed to hear that, that there isn't a thing in this world that can keep me from Jacob or him from me. Not a disagreement on when would be the right moment to move in together. Not a silly fight over God knows what. And not a bunch of scary royal vampires.

The night passed faster than I expected it to. Jackie was a good distraction. We talked about the things we've been through together in the past. Bad boyfriends, terrible parents, obnoxious brothers, awful teachers. We steered clear of the subjects related to the men we were waiting for. After we talked about Jacob, I had felt the need to cry. I didn't want to give her that feeling or experience it myself again. It was nice to remember the good things with her for once, instead of always focusing on where things went wrong for us.

It had been 5 hours since I had said goodbye to Jacob. Shouldn't they be back by now?

"Why aren't they here yet?" Zoe asked the question out loud that I had been wondering about as well.

"The vampire girl can't see the exact hour of the fight, all she knew was that it would happen when it was raining for the first time in August." Emily said.

We all simultaneously turned towards the window. It has been raining none stop after Jacob had awakened me with the dreadful news. Should I be glad or disappointed that it's still raining? I don't know how to feel.

"So we'll only know for sure that it's over when they come back or it stops raining?" Jackie asked.

As if on cue, we all scrambled to where the remote control was and turned the television on. Kim passed a few channels until we got to the weather report.

'Today will be rainy and we may even expect a storm. Throughout the night it will clear up and tomorrow there will be sun." This fake perky woman announced to us.

"So either tomorrow it's over or..." Zoe didn't finish her sentence but Kim did.

"Or it's all really over."

_I know, not a lot of action in this chapter but it's really important for you to get a good view on everything Erin thinks an feels. I found it rather difficult to write this chapter. Maybe because it was such an emotional (?) chapter. I'm better with the swearing and slapping, if I do say so myself :p_

_Tell me what you thought of it. _


	92. Waiting for  , what exactly?

_A big, big thank you to everyone who reviewed: __**Adids14, nene82743, feliciiaab, caleb's babe, purplecheer14, Valkyrie Shadow, noblebeauty, kikikiki, bookfreak345, Guest, lionandthelamblove7, witchbaby300, cullensrule, Crazy Tori, Californiarolls, Guest **__and __**Alenerien.**_

**Chapter 92**

19 hours! It's been 19 hours that they've been gone and you know what all the other imprints have been doing? Baking, cooking, drawing. I do understand that it's their way of keeping themselves busy so they don't have to think about it but come on! How can they not think about it? The only normal one here seems to be Claire. She's the one who isn't drawing or playing and she's the three-year old. I don't think I understood how perceptive the little girl who can't make a proper sentence to save her life was, until she uttered the next words:

"You don't have to worry. Everyone will be owkay. Qwuil will pwotect them."

We all stared at her with big eyes until Emily suddenly bursted out in tears and ran up to her little cousin to hug her for dear live. Maybe we're all going a little bit crazy from being locked in this house while knowing what might be happing in the next town.

The weather woman was wrong. I guess it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise to us but in times like these we needed to be able to depend on her. What good is she to us if she can't tell us something as simple as when it's going to stop raining?

"Does a drizzle mean the rain will soon be over?" Zoe asked from where she was looking out of the window.

The raindrops were no longer pounding on the windows but it was still raining. I don't know if the drizzle meant we'll see the pack again soon but I was glad to have some hope to latch onto.

Even after two more hours, it was still raining, or drizzling as Kim insisted we called it. Emily said we needed to get some sleep but there is no way I can sleep now. I seemed to be the only one though. The others had been doing things nonstop today so they were worn out, I however still had way too much energy and I was probably going to use it to worry about the pack. Who am I kidding? Jacob's the only one I'm thinking of right now.

I wonder what's happening to him right now. Is he still waiting for the Volturi to show up or is he already making his way back to me? Is he fighting them right now or is he... No, I'm absolutely certain that I would feel it in my bones if Jacob was no longer alive. He's fine. At least for now he is.

"You can't sleep?"

I had been sitting by myself in the living room while the others were either sleeping in Sam and Emily's room or in the guest room. That's why I almost jumped up when I heard Kim behind me.

"No and I don't understand how you can."

"I had a bad dream." She sighs sadly when she sits down next to me. "I don't have one often but when I do, Jared holds me and continues to stroke my hair until I fall back asleep. I wish he was here right now."

Kim is the most reserved person of all the imprints. She barely talks about her relationship with Jared and when she does she's usually blushing like a tomato. Especially now when she so casually tells me that she needs him, I have no idea how to respond to that. Except maybe tell her that he'll be back soon but I've been saying that to myself for almost 24 hours now and I'm still not buying it.

I grab her hand tightly to comfort her and maybe comfort myself as well a bit but I'm very much aware of what a poor substitute I am for Jared.

Suddenly the front door of the house bursts open and the man we were just talking about is standing in the living room.

"Jared!" Kim yells and she is quickly swooped up into his arms.

"You're okay." She's laughing and crying at the same time.

He's hugging her incredibly tightly and they're laughing together and they're just so really happy at the moment. I turn towards the door hoping I'm going to get a sweep and laugh moment as well but it's not my wolf who comes through the door next.

"Emily?" Sam asks me quickly.

I just point towards the stairs and he's gone too fast for me to ask him what happened exactly. The same thing happens when Seth, Embry and Quil walk in. They barely look at me. Where was Jacob?

I'm tired of waiting for him on the couch so I go outside to the porch in hope he'll show up soon. Whenever the bushes move and someone steps out, my heart leaps out of my chest. But up till now only Alex and Leah have come out. When someone's stepping out of the forest for the third time, I've had enough of it. None of them even pay me any attention and nobody seems to want to tell me where the fuck Jacob is. I'm tired of it. I want to know where Jacob is, right now!

"What happened?" I block Brady's path before he gets the chance to enter the house without telling me anything as well.

"Well, I was excited about finally getting to kick some vampire butt but then they went all strategic and with Bella's shield we really had a good chance of getting out of there alive. But then they killed the blond vamp and then her sisters or whatever got really pissed and almost started a fight but luckily the others contained them. Then the one who sees the future showed up again with a male Nessie and then we were all cool." He shrugged.

"I really didn't get any of the things you just said. I just want to know where Jacob is."

"Oh," He suddenly looked really uncomfortable. "He's...euhm...just, you know... not here at the moment."

Obviously but why was he so nervous about my question? Was something wrong?

"Why are you avoiding my question?" I asked in fright.

"I...I..."

Something was wrong! Jacob's still not here while he promised me nothing would happen to him. Why isn't he here? Is he hurt? I was choking on my breath and tears started to automatically fill my eyes.

"Why aren't you saying anything?!" I shouted at Brady.

"He's just trying to come up with the right way to tell you bitch Bella is the reason your boo isn't back yet." Paul said when he literally showed up out of nowhere.

Brady used my temporarily distraction to slip by me and into the house.

"What?" I asked Paul in confusion.

"When the fight was over, she asked him to stay, said she had something really important to tell him. I'm sure he'll be back soon." Paul grumbled.

Bella? Freaking Bella?! She had the audacity to ask him for help after everything she's put him through and now she won't even let him return to me when I'm sitting here with worry eating up every organ in my body. Fucking Bella!

"But don't worry, he's fine. It wasn't much of a fight to begin with." Paul shrugged.

He was the first one who stepped out of the forest and didn't rush by me as if I was nothing more than air. I appreciated it. Then again, he didn't really have an imprint he's dying to go to.

"Nothing happened?"

"Nope, a lot of talk but there wasn't an actual fight."

That's what we had all been worried about for months? And it wasn't even a big deal. I roll my eyes.

"I was really worried you were all going to die." I breathed out in relief.

"Yeah, right. What you mean is you were afraid Jacob was going to die." He grumbles.

He seemed sad in a way. That's when I realised why he wasn't eager to get into the house. He didn't have someone to go to. Sure, Brady didn't have an imprint either but he was very likeable and social while Paul has the social skills of a scare crow. He didn't have anyone who had been worried about his safety.

"I'm really glad you're okay, Paul." I tell him truthfully.

He just huffs and I know he doesn't believe me. So I do what is probably the most insane thing I've ever done and that says a lot. I hug him. And not like a little pat on the shoulder but a real bear hug. And I don't mind. I even think he doesn't mind that much either although he's experiencing too much awkwardness right now to return the hug but I won't hold that against him.

"Why?" He frowns when I pull away.

"Why what? Why did I hug you?"

"Well that too but what I meant is why does it matter to you if I'm okay or not."

"Because you're my friend. I'm getting really tired of you trying to deny it because that's what we are. So no more ignoring me or pushing me off cliffs, understood?"

"Okay, buddy." He grins at me.

It makes me laugh, he makes me laugh. I'm really glad me and Paul have found a way to be friends. Never thought I'd say that a few months ago.

Jacob POV

It's over? Just like that? No scratching, no killing, no struggle to survive? If I had known it was going to be like this, Erin didn't have to go insane over it. Erin. I get to return to her. Thank God, because the few hours in which I actually started believing in the possibility that I might not be able to return to her, were hell. A life without Erin is hell but knowing that my absence would hurt her like that, was torture as well.

Before Sam even said we could go, Jared had already stormed off in the direction of La Push. I guess he was just as eager to see Kim, as I was to see my own imprint. I was just about to follow him when Bella suddenly stood in front of me.

"I have to talk to you." She says.

'Now?' I think because I can't actually talk to her while I'm a wolf. Right now I wanted to go to Erin, not have a chat with Bella. I shook my head.

"Please? It's really important." She insists.

I don't care how important it is. I want to go to Erin.

"It's about Erin." She says.

This startles me. Bella and Erin are in way connected to each other besides being a part of my life. What could Bella possibly have to tell me about my love that I don't know yet?

I eventually decide to stay and hear her out. Before I phase back and put some trousers on, I hear Jared's thought and know he's just reached Sam and Emily's house. He was already with his imprint. Lucky bastard.

"Well? What is it? What about Erin?" I ask Bella once I'm fully dressed again.

"Euhm... I kind of used that as an excuse so you'd surely hear me out." Bella admits.

What?! So it wasn't even about Erin? Why else would I listen to her? I clench and unclench my fists until I'm sure I won't suddenly phase. When I am, I turn around and walk away. If it's not about Erin then I don't want to hear what she has to say.

"Wait! Jacob!" She follows me until she's standing right in front of me with her bright red eyes staring up at me.

"Look Bella, I've got more important things to do right now than to listen to you."

Yes, like letting Erin know I'm fine. I'm sure the pack will have told her that by now but I also want to see her, and hold her, and reassure her that I'm really fine. I saw the look on her face when I left her at Sam's, she was terrified that I wouldn't return and it's my duty to make sure she doesn't ever look that sad and frightened again.

"There's just something really important I have to discuss with you and if I let you leave now, who knows when we'll see each other again?"

"You've got one minute." I grumble.

She's not going to let this go so if she just tells me right now what she wants, I'll see Erin back soon.

"I wanted to make sure you and I are okay." She says.

"What do you mean by 'okay'?" I frown.

"You and I are still friends, right? I mean, I would hate to see us throw our friendship away because I'm a vampire now. I don't mind being friends with a werewolf."

Did she really just say that? It reminded me of something Erin said to me not so long ago. She had said that what happened in the past between Bella and me will always be a part of me. I didn't fully understand what she meant by that but I think I do now. Bella will always be a big part of my past, I can't change that. What I can change is whether or not she's a part of my present and I don't think I want her to be. Because Erin was right, she scarred me and up until now she's been getting away with it.

"You don't mind being my friend?! Well, I mind. What good has being your friend ever done for me? It just made me bitter and depressed. The only good part about it, is that it's in the past and I have no intention of reviving it." I growl at her.

She stared at me blankly and even that pissed me off. I ran off and burst out of my human skin again before Bella even had to change to say something back.

It felt as if a big weight had been dropped from my shoulders and I guess that's exactly what it is. For the first time in years I feel completely freed from Bella. Because this time I meant it, this time I'm not going to take back what I said.

And finally, finally I get to go back to Erin now. I've missed her harder than I'll ever be able to put in words.

Erin POV

Paul stayed seated next to me when I sat down on the porch and waited for Jacob to finally show up. It will only seem real if I have his arms around me again, only then will I breathe again.

"What could she want with Jacob that is taking this long? We've been sitting here for hours!" I whine.

"We've been here for five minutes." He counters.

"Well, it feels like forever." I huff.

Thomas has come back by now as well. That means only Jacob and Collin still aren't here. Collin will probably want to stay with his imprint / abomination so why was Jacob the only one who still hasn't returned yet? I wonder what it was about that made him decide not to come back here, to me, as soon as he could.

And finally, finally the bushes start moving again and the man I've been waiting for steps out. Finally.

Jacob looks fine, there's not a scratch on him but I can just tell that inside he's fuming. Only when he locks eyes with me, his anger seems to evaporate and he smiles warmly and just as relieved as I feel right now.

I quickly get up and run towards him so I can throw myself in his arms. Almost automatically his arms wrap themselves tightly around my body and my arms do the same.

"You're okay." I breathe into his neck and this time I'm fighting back tears of joy.

"Yeah."

He tilt my head back slightly and kisses every ounce of breath out of my body. This was way better than the previous kiss. This one was filled with happiness instead of sadness but I was also desperate for this one to last forever.

"I told you I'd be fine." He grins slightly.

"I didn't believe you." I admit.

"I know but I still came back, didn't I? And in one piece."

"You didn't come back very quickly though." I pout and it may seem playful but I was actually hurt that Jacob didn't rush back here the way Jared had for Kim. He probably knows that.

"I wanted to." He tells me. "But Bella blocked me and said she needed to talk to me about you."

"About me?"

"Turns out it was just an excuse so I'd listen to her. She wanted to talk about our friendship and I told her to fuck off."

Again with the swearing. He does that a lot lately. Not that a pissed off Jacob isn't kind of a turn on but I'm the swearing one in our relationship.

"You did?" I frown because I have a hard time believing he said that to Bella.

"Not those exact words but I did tell her that I don't want to see her again."

"Really?" I sound hopeful.

I don't want to be the kind of girlfriend who doesn't let her boyfriend hang out with who he wants but with Bella it's a sore spot. She was never just a friend and even besides that she just doesn't deserve him and his friendship after the way she treated him like dirt. And even talking about her now, makes him sort of sad.

"Yes." He kisses me again. "And from now on I hope we'll never have to say her name again."

"I'm on board with that." I smile at him.

"I already had a feeling you would."

I stay standing outside in his embrace for a while. I don't want to go inside because I like this moment, where it's just him and me. And for the first time since the day I met him, I truly believe nothing will ever break us apart after this.

"Euhm, Jacob?" I suddenly blush after realising something. "You do know you're naked, right?"


	93. Out with the old, in with the new

_Thank you for the great reviews __**Sugar-Ice, noblebeauty, Alaina08, sundaysolis, Guest, bookfreak345, kikikiki, Guest, caleb's babe, witchbaby300, Crazy Tori, PuckForPresident, ADORATIO, Californiarolls, werewolf lover8, nene82743, Akuish **__and __**108DegreesIsHawt. **_

_Sorry to disappoint the people who are expecting another unexpected twist to change the course of this story because it's really coming to an end right now. I think I'll probably only post two chapters after this one, maybe even just one. _

_And by the way, for those who were wondering: Paul is not in love with Erin. _

**Chapter 93**

These past few hours feel like I'm still sleeping and dreaming the most amazing dream except that this is reality. There are no longer any vampires around La Push, except of course the Cullens but they are no longer mine or Jacob's concern. Jacob is safe and sound and sleeping next to me. Well, actually I'm kind of lying on top of him right now. I've been awake for almost two hours now while Jacob's still catching up on all the sleep he's missed. I wonder when I became the one who watches the other one sleep. Probably around the time he became the swearing type.

"I get what you mean with it being kind of weird that someone watches you sleep." Jacob's groggy voice says while his eyes remain closed.

I laugh and press a kiss to his jaw.

"How long have you been awake?" He asks me while his hand reaches up to thread into my hair.

"Not long." I lie. "I was thinking about what to do this month since I didn't actually plan anything."

"I know what you can do. In September you need to give me an answer to something so you better start figuring out what that will be."

"I can still do other things." I roll my eyes at him. "What do you want to do?"

"Whatever will make you smile."

Cheesy!

"But I will be kind of busy the next two weeks."

"What?! Why?" I ask him.

I can't remember him telling me anything about that.

"Sam and Emily are going to book a last minute honeymoon and because I'm beta, I'll have to take over the alpha duties. They deserve some alone time."

How come all the wolves always get to spend a lot of time with their imprint except Jacob?

"When are we going to get some deserved alone time?" I pout at him.

"On _our_ honeymoon." He grins.

I shoot up.

"Don't say scary things like that. Do you want me to get a fright again? I'm still recovering from the last one you gave me."

"Please, me asking you to live together wasn't that bad."

I scoff. Not that bad? Doesn't he know I have commitment issues?

"How awake are you?" He suddenly asks.

"Why do you ask?"

"I know it's still early..." He says.

Of course it is. The sun isn't even up yet.

"...But there's something I want to show you."

"Is this another one of your surprises?" I sigh.

He just smiles.

That's why at 5 o'clock in the morning, I'm sitting in Jacob's car and he's driving me God knows where. When he stops, he opens the door and leads me away from the car by the hand.

"So I figured the reason you haven't said yes to living together yet is because you just can't imagine yourself living in the Kelmann place yet." He smiles.

I realise now where we are. We're at the Kelmann place, I recognise the road we took to go to the private beach now that I think about it. I sigh. Why won't Jacob just give up on this? Or at least wait until it's September, the way we had agreed?

"Of course it wouldn't be the Kelmann place anymore. It would be Erin and Jacob's place.

That doesn't sound that bad actually. Until I saw the place. It's a dump. Sure it's got a great location and according to every person dealing in real estate that's the three most important things when looking for a house but seriously, this is the definition of a dump.

"It needs a lot of work, I know that but maybe that's a good thing. Then you'll still have a while to adjust to the idea of the two of us living together."

I was going to open my mouth but Jacob interrupted me before I could even get one word out.

"Don't say anything because it's probably not going to be a nice thing. Just wait until you've seen the best part."

He opened the door and guided me inside. The inside wasn't much better than the outside except that there was one cool thing about it. In the living room, or at least I assume it's supposed to be the living room, one wall was made up out of one big window. The sun was starting to rise and I hate to admit it to Jacob, but that was some pretty breath-taking view.

"So what do you think?" Jacob asked me eagerly. "This would be of course the living room, that's the kitchen and that door leads to a little hallway connected to the master bedroom, a spare bedroom and the bathroom."

When he was pointing everything out, I was really hit by the realisation of how much he wanted this. Why was he so eager to live with me? I know he loves me but I have a really bad mood in the morning and it only goes away late in the afternoon.

"So? Can you see yourself living here? With me?" He asked me not even trying to hide his eagerness.

"I think... it's not September yet and I don't have to answer that question." I grin at him, happy with my little loophole.

"Fair enough." He shrugs.

"And you're supposed to give me the space to think about it. You bringing it up every five minutes, isn't really giving me that space."

"I know but I just want to make sure you're really considering it."

"By making it impossible for me to escape it for even one minute?" I cock my eyebrow.

He shrugs.

"If I promise you I'll really, really consider it, will you stop talking about it?" I ask him.

He agrees and we spend the rest of the day avoiding that very subject.

Jacob had been right and the next two weeks were filled with his alpha-replacing duties. I used the new amount of free time to prepare with Leah for the upcoming year and spend the last moments with Andy before he would move to New York. I don't think I truly understood how little I was going to see of him from now on until the day before he would leave.

"I can't believe your leaving." I sighed from my spot on his bed while I watched him having difficulties closing his suitcase.

"You knew this would happen. This has always been the plan."

"I know, but... La Push just won't be the same without you."

My life just wouldn't be the same without Andy. He's the only friend I have outside of the pack. That sounds actually kind of sad, now that I think about it. But who am I supposed to hang with when I've had enough with the supernatural and I need some normalness? Then there's also the fact that he's been my best friend for as long as I can remember and it will be hard only seeing him during the holidays and through skype. That's just not good enough.

"I don't really want to go either. Going to New York all by myself is kind of scary." He admits.

"You have nothing to worry about. You'll make friends in no time, or at least get a horde of girls after you in no time." I smile.

"Things will definitely be different around here for you. Especially if you decide to live together with Jacob."

"Don't you start as well." I throw a pillow at his head.

Ever since I told Andy that, he's been bothering me about it more than Jacob did at first. As if I needed any more reminders that in a few days I'll have to give Jacob my answer and I still have no idea what it will be.

"You'll let me know what you decide, right?" He asks.

"If I'll ever decide." I sigh desperately.

"Why is it so hard for you to make a decision?"

"It's just so... final."

"Not to mention it makes it even more awkward if you guys break up one day."

I stare at him.

"Aren't you the optimist." I say sarcastically.

"I'm realistic." He shrugs. "Just let me know what you decided and whatever it is, I'll support it."

"Thanks." I smile at my best friend.

"Food's ready." His mom calls from downstairs.

"You wanna stay for dinner?"

"I can't." I sigh. "My dad wants me home for dinner. Mason and Angela are coming over, again."

"How's that going by the way?"

"Not that bad actually. I'm still not a big fan of Mason, probably never will be but Angela is okay, I guess, for a three-year old who looks scarily enough exactly like my mother." I tell him when we make our way downstairs.

"So you'll be at the airport tomorrow?" He asks me before I open his front door.

"Of course, I don't want to miss up on the opportunity to humiliate you in such an overcrowded public place like the airport in Seattle." I grin.

I leave his house and get into my car so I can drive home. When I get there they are all already sitting at the table.

"Hi Erin, how was your day?" Mason asks me once I sit down.

I didn't understand why Leah was annoyed with Alex trying so hard to please her but now I get it. I really hate how Mason Cobbs continuously tries to get on my good side. I know he's doing it to be nice but I wish he would just cut it out.

"Didn't do much." I shrug.

"Angela has a question for you." Mason says.

"Really? What's the question?" I turn towards the shy little girl in the hopes that today I'll be graced with the sound of her voice again. Apparently that's something you have to earn over and over again.

"Could I play with Claire again?" She asks in the most civilised voice which no one else at the table could compete with.

"Of course you can. I'll call Emily tonight but I'm pretty sure Claire will be at her house tomorrow. I'll take you with me." I smile softly at her.

I don't know why but ever since I was terrified I'd lose Jacob, I've been a lot nicer and more patient with the Cobbs. I actually don't mind having Angela around the house that much anymore. It also helps that Mason pays me a very large amount of money every time I babysit her.

The next morning I drop off Angela at Emily's for her play date with Claire and pick up Jackie to drive to the airport together. We talk about random things and avoid the subject of Andy leaving all together. I don't know if this is worse for her because she was supposed to leave with him on this adventure or if it's worse for me because he and I have been closer this last few months than him and Jackie. I just know that I don't want him to go.

Me, Jackie, Andy's sister and his parents are there to wave him off. He already said his goodbye to Jackie when he turns towards me.

"I'm going to really miss you, Erin." He smiles at me.

"I'm going to miss you too." I say softly because I'm afraid that if I speak a little louder, I'm going to choke up.

"Are you crying?" He asks me in shock.

"No! Because that would be stupid." I try not to make it too obvious that I'm starting to sob a little but it's no use. He noticed.

"Oh, Erin."

He engulfs me in a hug and I slowly hug him back. Neither I nor Andy are the hugging type so you can probably count the number of times we've hugged on one hand but I'm pretty sure that not one of those times I was sobbing in his arms. That's usually something I reserve for Jacob. And for good reason, since this is starting to be a very awkward situation.

"You won't even notice that I'm gone." He smiles at me when the hug is over.

"I doubt it."

He says goodbye to his family and I'm glad to see his mom cry as well. But I'm still kind of embarrassed over the fact I just cried. I'm glad Jackie doesn't mention it on our way back to La Push after Andy left for his gate.

"I talk to Andy about everything." I tell her a few minutes before we reach La Push.

"I know." She sighs sadly because maybe she's feeling left out right now.

"And whenever I call him he's there for me, no matter who he's with." I continue.

"I know." She sighs again. "Why are you telling me this when you're very much aware of the fact that I already know that you two are super close."

"Because I'm going to come to you with all my troubles from now on."

"Really?"

"Yes, and you better not let me down this time."

"I won't, Erin, I promise." She smiles brightly at me.


	94. September

_Thank you __**noblebeauty, sundaysolis, Californiarolls, kikikiki, bookfreak345, Guest, Ms M.E.B.S., , purplecheer14, nene82743, Alaina08, Alenerien **__and __**bonniebeast. **_

_So the good news is that I'll still post one more chapter next week. The bad news is, that will really be the last one. I've been writing this story for almost two years now and it was a pretty good run. I can't believe how much great reactions I've gotten and I want to thank everyone who read this story. _

_But of course all stories come to an end. Do not worry though. I still have a lot of ideas for other stories so definitely keep an eye on my profile ;)_

**Chapter 94**

Being poked awake was something that had been happening a lot lately. I tried to swat the jabbing hand away and fall back into my deep sleep but Jacob's pretty persistent when he wants to be.

"What?!" I snapped at him once I had enough and looked him in the eye.

He didn't answer me, he just pointed towards something on his bedside table.

"What's-" I started but didn't finish.

What he had been pointing at, had been the alarm clock I gave him this year as a late Christmas present. It read 0:02.

"It's officially September first now." He gloated.

"Are you serious? When I said September, I didn't really mean the second it turns September." I groaned.

"I did still give you two minutes." He counters.

I just sigh. I'm hoping he won't notice the fact that I'm not answering his unspoken question. Even if he does notice, shouldn't he be aware that my silence actually means something?

"Erin?" He asks me softly.

"Jacob?" I simply say.

"Don't you think I've waited long enough by now?" He sighs.

He's right. He has been more than patient with me and I want to reward it by giving him the answer he wants to hear but I don't know if I can.

"Erin..."

"I like everything very orderly and cleaned up. And no offense to you but you're room is a mess. A horrid, smelly mess. I've never said something about it before but every time I enter this room, I want to start vacuuming." I start and once I start with the rambling, it's hard to get me to stop. "When you eat, you make it almost impossible for me to maintain my appetite. I have a horrid mood in the mornings while you're always chipper and happy. It works on my nerves more often than not. I don't like it when you leave in the middle of the night because it just makes the bed colder and it wakes me up."

"Are you done summoning up my flaws?" He asks.

"That's my point. There are still so many things about you, so many flaws that irritate the crap out of me. How am I supposed to live in one house with that? I'm sure you have the same with me."

"Yes, you swear a lot."

"Do not." I give him a small slap on the shoulder.

"You don't like it that I'm a cuddler in the mornings and you always turn away from me then. You always have to clean up when you're upset instead of just talking about what's bothering you. When you're sad or angry you never really say what you're feeling, I always have to read between the lines and that's exhausting. I knew I had abandonment issues but you're twice as bad as me, you just don't want to admit it."

"When I said you probably felt the same, I wasn't really asking for examples." I scoff.

I could have come up with examples of my own, probably nicer than the ones he just said.

"But there just tiny flaws, Erin. The fact that you're not perfect, makes me fall in love with you all over again. Because to me you're perfect, because of those imperfections, not despite of them."

"We'd argue, a lot." I say.

"That's who we are. We'll be bored to death if we can't have a heated argument every once in a while. And I like the fact that I'm the only one who can win an argument with you."

It's not that hard. All he has to do is take off his shirt and I don't even remember what we were arguing about in the first place. Kissing me, grinning, smiling or flexing his muscles does the trick as well.

"That's exactly who I love. The woman who makes me fall head over heels again every day just by being her wonderful neurotic self. The one who pulled me out of my loneliness and made me feel what real love is like, real intense love that crawls under your skin and burns you to the very core."

"...Okay." I say.

He cocks his head as if he doesn't quite understand what I'm saying.

"I want to move in with you." I breathe out.

"Really?" His grin spreads faster than it ever has before.

"Yes." I laugh.

I found myself immediately being lathered in kisses.

"But, wait. There are still some things we have to talk about." I gently push him away.

"Like...?"

"What about Billy? He can't be left alone. He can't live in this house all by himself."

"I hope you're not suggesting he moves in that house with us." He says.

"No, of course not. But you must have thought about what's going to happen with Billy if you move out."

"Well the solution to that came literally out of nowhere a few days ago." He smiles. "Rachel's moving back home."

"What?"

From what I hear of Jacob, his sister isn't very fond of the small town I call my home. According to her brother, she couldn't leave this place fast enough. It didn't sound to me as if she'd ever move back to La Push.

"She's... not doing really great. She failed all her classes this year and when dad suggested she'd take a year off to recharge the batteries, she agreed."

"But that's only a year. She's not going to stay forever."

"I know." He sighs. "But can we just cross that bridge when we get there? Can't I just be ecstatic right now that you agreed to live with me?"

"Just one more thing. Can we not tell anyone, at least until I've figured out a way to tell my dad. You can still tell Billy of course."

"Dad already knows."

"Since when?" I ask him in surprise.

I only just told him yes so how come Billy already knew?

"Ever since I thought about asking you. I told my dad first and he told me to just go for it, said there might be a chance you'd say yes."

Billy knew all this time? A head's up would have been nice.

"Oh, okay. But can you wait to tell anyone else until I've told my dad?"

He nodded.

"Do you want me to go with you?" He asked.

"No, when I tell my dad I'm buying a house with you, I want you as far out of his reach as you can be."

"I thought you're dad liked me now?"

"No, Mason likes you. Bryan likes you. My dad tolerates you. That doesn't mean he's not going to want to choke the life out of you once I tell him."

"Your dad is not a violent person." He laughs but I'm not kidding.

Yeah, my dad never ever resorts to violence but Jacob and I have been dating for almost a year now (really? Only a year?) so my dad has had plenty of times to think of several ways to hurt Jacob enough he'll back off.

"Let's not risk it." I say.

He agrees.

I needed a plan. If I was going to tell my dad about this I needed to have some kind of strategy and be prepared for all the complications. Because there will be complications, big ones.

So far all I've come up with is 'Hey dad, remember how Bryan keeps saying that his room's so small? I'm going to give him mine. Oh, and by the way I'm going to live with Jacob.'

It's still in progress. The plan needs some work.

So tonight was family dinner night. Lately that means Angela and Mason come over. Apparently there family these days and strangely enough, I've been surprisingly okay with it.

"So how was your week, Erin?" Mason asked me.

It's a normal question but it got me all sweaty and nervous. Whatever you do, Erin, don't blurt it out. Don't blurt it out.

"Okay." I say in a small voice.

"Could you elaborate a little?" He laughs.

"Just spend most of my time with Jacob."

Don't blurt it out!

"Speaking of your boyfriend, I owe him a big thank you. Thanks to him I found a house in Forks, more than big enough for the two of us and at a very good price. How come he knows so much about real estate?"

Oh God, of course that would be the subject right now. It seems like even though things are going great in my life right now, luck is still not on my side.

Tell a lie.

"He learned it from his dad."

Could be the truth though. How would I know?

"Really? I had no idea Billy had knowledge on real estate." My dad frowned.

Why do I insist on telling people lies when I know I'm not good at it. For example, I always forget there are people who can see right through my lie. Why did I forget dad knows Billy?

"Me neither but apparently he does." I try to shrug in a nonchalant way.

I was so grateful when we dropped the subject and talked about Mason' promotion. You know I still have no idea what he actually does for a living. As far as I understand the things that leave his mouth, I think he might be into reassurances, or run an airport. It's not very clear. All I know is that it's something complicated and he leaves town a lot.

Since I had no idea what Mason was actually talking about, I zoned out pretty quickly. Angela was sitting next to me and clearly wasn't in the mood for mashed potatoes because she had already slipped half of it on the floor without either man noticing it. She kept smiling secretly whenever she caught my eye and I didn't want to be the one to get her in trouble. Though eventually someone was going to notice the pile on our kitchen floor.

"Oh Angela. What did you do?" Mason sighs when he understood why his daughter was giggling like that.

Maybe the girl is a little more bad-ass and a little more like me than I give her credit for.

I like Angela now, I really do. I wouldn't say that I love her and really see her as my sister but I have no doubt that it will happen in time. Especially when she spends so much time at our house. So I may not call her my sister just yet but she is part of my family. I'll admit that. If someone told me in the beginning that I was going to start viewing the Cobbs as family, I would have had them admitted to the loony house.

Strange, right? How I went from a family with my dad and annoying brother who always took everything he wanted for granted to the family I have today.

At the beginning of the school year I thought my life was prefect the way it was. How wrong was I. I hadn't even met Jacob yet. It feels like a life time ago. So much has happened. Bad things like Paul attacking me, Emma Hurley trying to steal Jacob, Bill Kholden thinking he and I had some kind of relationship and Bryan leaving our home to find our mother. But also good things like befriending Paul and Leah, finding Angela and Mason (even though that came with a lot of heart ache as well), getting somehow closer to my brother and the most important one: meeting Jacob Black.

I love Jacob. It seems almost unreal to think there was a time I didn't know him. My whole world revolves around him now, even though I will never reveal that to him. We've both changed our lives so they match each other. Him more than me I guess. The least I can do is what I promised to do. Tell my dad.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Erin?" He answers while passing a rag to Mason who was cleaning up Angela's mess.

"I'm going to move in with Jacob."

_The next update will be a chapter/epilogue to tie the last loose ends. Of course there are some loose ends I can't tie in just once chapter, mainly Leah/Alex. I know a lot of people were hoping I'd do a sort of spin-off on them but I just don't have the connection with them as I do with Erin/Jacob. That's why I feel I can't do an entire story on them but I am planning on doing a one-shot on them, so you'll all know what happens with them afterwards and what you didn't see during this story because 'Fix Me' is Erin's POV. _

_When I say one-shot, I don't mean 2,000 words but I mean a really long one-shot. I want to do the same for Embry/ Jackie because you never really did find out how they met and how they fell in love. So that's something to look forward to when this is over._


	95. Epilogue

_Thank you __**sundaysolis, witchbaby300, bonniebeast, noble beauty, Alaina08, kikikiki, Chapps, nene82743 **__and everyone who ever reviewed this story. It was a pleasure to write this story for you and have such great response. This story and of course the great response to it, made me really find my passion for writing._

_So this is it: the last chapter. Tell me what you thought of the story one last time. _

**Chapter 95**

It's been five months.

Five months since me and Jacob made an offer on the old Kellmann place and we got it. It's a very price thing to do, buy a house. It took almost all of my savings and I had to take a part time job at a bookstore in Port Angeles to pay for it all. And I still didn't pay for half of the house. According to Jacob I have but I'm pretty certain that he's been lying about the price to me so he'll pay a bigger part of it than me. He can afford it, I can't. I had no idea how much Jacob had saved. It makes me wonder for how long he had been walking around with the idea of buying a house for the two of us.

Five months since Rachel Black moved back to La Push. I had been rather nervous about that because she's Jacob's sister, his family. Sure I've somehow managed to get Billy to like me but he had no other choice. His son imprinted on me! Rachel however didn't know anything about the shape-shifters and imprints and vampires. I had to make her like me all by myself. I'm still not sure if I failed or succeeded. She doesn't hate me, if that's worth something. According to Jacob, she does like me but he believes everyone should adore me so I'm not sure if what he says is reliable.

Whether Rachel Black likes me or not, I certainly like the girl, or woman. She's not the female version of Jacob at all. She has a pleasant smile as well but seems to be more careful about who she gives her smiles. She's a lot more serious than he is and I'm not saying he's never serious but Rachel kind of always caries this mature and wise expression on her face. It makes me wonder if she really is only 24 years old.

But seeing how different Rachel is from the man she is related to, just makes me realise how truly special my Jacob is.

Five months since Paul Lahote imprinted on Rachel Black. You should have seen his face when he told Sam what happened. I wish I had been there to witness it. According to Emily it was a very amusing sight though she felt kind of bad for him when she noticed how panicky it all made him.

He crossed paths with her at the supermarket, a place that I do not associate well with Paul Lahote but apparently I has gotten a good meaning for him now. Good for him, or not. Depends on how you look at it.

It took him four days to get his head out of the gutter and try to meet her again. I'm glad imprinting hasn't made him a wimp the way it obviously has for Embry. He's still a bad-ass, dirty-mouthed, arrogant vampire-killing shape-shifter. But now he's a bad-ass, dirty-mouthed, arrogant vampire-killing shape-shifter in love.

And the best part of it all? Paul imprinting on Rachel makes him Jacob's future brother-in-law. When Jacob found out, he was so fucking furious with him. I've never, well almost never, seen Jacob this angry. It was kind of scary and I actually feared for Paul's safety. But after they both phased and Jacob saw everything through Paul's eyes, he couldn't help but back off. That doesn't mean he's okay with it. He's made it very clear that he doesn't want to see Paul anywhere near his house.

They are momentarily dating and he's going to tell her the truth about the pack soon. I'm happy for him. And especially since she wasn't as reluctant to let him in her life the way we all thought Paul's imprint would be. I think they're cute together, Jacob's doesn't really agree with me on that.

Five months since Jackie and i picked up our friendship where we left off a long time ago. It's not the way it was before, I've accepted a while ago that it's never going back to that. But maybe that's not a bad thing. We've changed, we've grown up and we've both met the love of our life. You can't stay 16 forever. We've found a way to be 18 and friends though. She puts spending time with me occasionally before spending time with Embry and I do the same for her. We're making an effort, which is something we didn't do before and it makes a world of difference.

Five months since Angela gave me great insight about myself, the world and my mother.

We had been sitting in the garden of Mason's new house. It's a great house by the way. Something ideal for Angela to grow up in. She has her own bathroom which I'm sure will come in handy once she gets older. The place is a fifteen minutes drive away and Bryan makes me drive all the way a lot.

But anyway, I had been sitting with her in the yard with my dad and Mason inside, painting the living room walls. Bryan was supposed to help but he had come up with some kind of excuse to not show up. I had told Angela about the things I liked to do when I was her age when she suddenly said: 'Mommy isn't coming back, right?'

That had been what I had always feared, the reason I didn't want to be around the little girl. Because I didn't want to explain to her why exactly her mother left.

"Yes." I sighed, because I've learned some time ago that there's no use in lying to her, she sees right through it.

"Are you going to leave too?"

Her words shocked me. It made me think that in Angela's eyes I was like my mother. I didn't know if that was because I was the only female responsible figure in her life right now or if it was because she saw similarities between me and our mother that maybe I chose to be blind for.

"Why do you think I would leave?" I asked her, a little pained.

"I didn't want mommy to leave but she did. I don't want you to leave. You read me stories, much better than daddy or Bryan."

I smiled affectionately at her.

"I'm not leaving." I reassured her.

"Promise?"

She reminded me so much of myself then: not trusting people on their word, fearing that anyone she cares about can leave at any moment. She was already living my fears and I truly loathed my mother for putting the little girl through the same things I had struggled with while growing up.

"I promise you I'm not going anywhere."

She hugged me after that. Like we all know, I don't like hugs but I gladly returned hers.

She made me realise three things.

I'm not like my mother. Sure there are certain traits of character of which I just know I have them from her but I couldn't do what she did. Leave my family; dad, Bryan, Angela. Leave Jacob. I'm not longer afraid that one day, in the future, I will run from the man I love. Why? Because despite the things I have in common with my mother, there is one big difference. She never loved. I actually feel sorry for her these days because she had what most people would die for. A loving family, a devoted husband and I don't think she really realise what she had, not even when it was gone. I pity her for never feeling the amount of love I feel for the people in my life.

Life goes on. I keep on being scared to move forward because of what happened in the past, because of the mistakes the people around me made. I have to make my own. And if there is one thing I'm absolutely certain of in this life, is that Jacob is not a mistake. He is the best part of me.

Angela is my sister. Not half, but just my sister. And ever since I've realised that, I've gotten so much love from her. And I realised that I like being a role-model for her. I like it that I'm her favourite storyteller because I have a softer voice than Bryan and Mason. I like it that she always asks me if she can have a biscuit because she knows I'm in charge of the kitchen at our place. I wasn't too happy when I got stuck with the task of explaining her what the difference between boys and girls is. I do realise that I'll also be stuck with talking to her about the changes her body will go through when she hits puberty. It's something that comes automatically with being the only other girl in this disturbing but functioning family.

Five months since I've told my father I'm moving in with Jacob. He didn't have the heart attack I thought he'd have but his respect (if you can even call it that) for Jacob flew out the window once I uttered that sentence. He refused to let Jacob in our house as long as he hadn't talked the idea out of my head. And he tried very hard. But I had finally made up my mind about it and nothing my dad said or did could change it back.

When I told him me and Jacob had made an offer about a week after I told him, he nearly exploded but I'm a legal adult and there's nothing he can do about it. He has refused to come see the house though. Even Mason already saw it, said it was a good deal we made and that he finally understood why Jacob hadn't wanted him to make an offer on the house. Bryan was already making plans about moving in to my room and I don't know if Angela truly understand what it'll mean when I move out. Not that I won't see my family anymore, but I'll definitely see less of them.

It's been five months and my dad still doesn't want to see the house. So today's the day I'm forcing him to come see it with me. Maybe he'll finally have a change of heart when he sees the place. It definitely did the trick when Jacob showed me the house. My dad thinks we're going to Forks, to go see Mason and Angela. I'll be driving and instead of going to Forks, I'm going to drive to the house. Let's just hope he won't voluntarily jump out of the car.

I quickly grabbed the keys of the counter when I saw him reach for it.

"I'll drive." I said in a rush.

"I prefer driving myself, Erin." He tried to take the keys out of my hand.

"Oh dad, you already have to drive the car every day. It's nice to be a passenger sometimes."

Before he could argue with me on this, I grabbed my jacket and I was out the door. My dad had no choice but to follow me and let me drive. I just hoped he wouldn't realise too soon that we're not going to Forks. He'll probably notice right away because the house, our house is at the other side of La Push.

"You were supposed to turn right." He sighs annoyed.

"I know." I just keep riding in the direction I wanted.

"Where are you going?" He asked me suspiciously.

"You'll see." I say because I'm afraid he'll put up a real fight when I tell him where we're going.

But eventually he figured it out because we're at this kind of lonely road and he knows where the house is.

"Turn around, Erin."

"No." I turn into the long driveway. "Just look at it once, dad, just once. And then you can tear it down verbally as much as you want to."

He looks kind of angry and annoyed right now but when I stop the car he steps out anyway.

The house has changed of course. We rebuild the small porch because it was only hanging on by a threat. Most of the work we've done so far (me, Jacob and a lot of help from the rest of the pack) is inside. We changed the old floor with a new wooden one. And we removed all the broken glass out of the windows and throw away the few things that were still in the house.

My dad walks around the house with an unreadable expression on his face and doesn't say anything.

"So? What do you think?" I ask him, a little afraid he will tear it down verbally.

"It's a house, Erin. You bought a house. You're still too young for this."

"Why should my age determine whether I'm ready for this or not?"

"This is such a big commitment. I don't think you realise that. Sometimes things like this freak you out and you'll just end up hurting yourself and the people you love."

His words really upset me.

"I'm not my mother." I say sternly.

"I wasn't just talking about her, Erin. People who make big commitments like this at an early age, regret it sooner or later."

"I won't."

"You don't know-"

"I know I won't regret it." I say. "I love Jacob and I am never going to stop feeling like this. And he loves me just as much. I've never been more certain about anything in my life, dad. And it would mean the world to me if you could just support it."

He looks at me and sighs deeply.

"You certainly have grown up this past year."

"I have." I nod.

"Fine. This may not be what I want for you but if you're certain about this, I'll respect your decision."

"Really?"

"I don't really have a choice, now do I?" He sigh but he's smiling again.

I hug my dad because I don't think he understand how much his blessing means to me. I would have hated moving in this house while my dad disapproves of it. In time I will make him see that this is not a mistake.

"Can we go to Forks now?"

"Actually, I was going to work at the house right now with Jacob but I'll come later tonight. I don't want to miss dinner."

Mason's a really good cook.

"You'll get a ride from him?" My dad asks.

I nod and he takes off. Not even two minutes later Jacob's car pulls into the driveway.

"How did you get here?" He frowns when he gets out and notices the absence of my car.

"I drove my dad here and he's gone to Forks." I smile brightly at him.

"Why are you smiling?" He asks me.

Once he stand in front of me, I throw my arms around his neck and pull myself up till I'm nose to nose with Jacob.

"Because my dad just sort of gave me his blessing." I kiss him.

"Really? I didn't think he'd come around."

"Well, of course he still wasn't too happy about it but he respects that it's my decision and this is something I want."

"How much do you want it?" He smiles back at me.

"So much I can't believe I didn't say yes the minute you asked me."

"Good answer." And he continues his mission to kiss every ounce of breath out of me. As he will continue to do so for the rest of our lives.


End file.
